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DOCUMENTS 



RELATIVE TO 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS, 












ENLISTMENT QUESTION. 



PRINTED BY DIRECTION OP THE HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES OF THE U. STATES 



WASHINGTON: 

CORNELIUS WENDELL, PRINTER. 
1856. 



By IVanat'er 

MAY 11 1912 



In the House of Representatives, April 1, 1856. 

Resolved, That there be printed for the use of the members of the House of Eepresenta- 
tives of the thirty-fourth Congress, ten thousand copies of the documents and. corre- 
spondence between the government of Great Britain and the United States in relation to 
Central American affairs, communicated to the present Congress by the President of the 
United States with his annual message : said documents and correspondence to include 
the correspondence in relation to an arbitration of said question between the two govern- 
ments ; the correspondence in regard to recruiting for the British army within the United 
States, together with the documents and evidence relating to that subject communicated 
to the Senate on the 28th of February, 1856 ; and the confession of Henry Hertz, made 
after conviction, to the district court of the United States at Philadelphia, on the 11th 
day of October, A. D. 1855, and the several papers referred to in that confession. 

And be it further resolved, That ten thousand copies of the map of Central America, pre- 
pared under the direction of the Coast Survey office, be printed to accompany said work. 
Attest : 

WTLLIAM CULLOM, Clerk. 
By JOHN N. BARCLAY, Assistant Clerk. 



CORRESPONDENCE 



GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES, 



IN RELATION TO 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS, 



COMMUNICATED 



TO THE FIRST SESSION OP THE THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS BY THE PRESIDENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES WITH HIS ANNUAL MESSAGE. 



K- 



CORRESPONDENCE 



GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES, 



IN RELATION TO 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS, 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[Extract.] 



[No. 2.] Department of State, 

Washington, July 2, 1853. 
Igjj^ .####### * # * 

Great Britain, for a long period, has had possession of a district of 
country on the shores of the Bay of Honduras, called "the Belize." 
The right she has to hold it is derived from a grant by Spain ; and 
this right is limited to a single purpose, with an express prohibition 
against using it for any other. A possession so restricted as to its 
use could never be considered a British colony. While she confines 
herself to the boundaries specified in the treaties with Spain, in 1783 
and 1786, and uses the district or country described only for the pur- 
poses stipulated therein, we have no right to complain that she is 
infringing our policy ; but when she extends her occupancy by en- 
croachments far beyond the prescribed bounds, and changes its tenure 
by exercising over it civil authority, a very different character is given 
to this settlement ; it then becomes a new colony on this continent. 

Since the acquisition of California, Great Britain has manifested a 
more matured design to change this Spanish license to cut dye-wood 
and mahogany at the Belize into a British dominion. The object of 
such change cannot be misunderstood, nor will it be disregarded by 
this government. The character of the British settlement at the 
Belize is explicitly shown by an authority which will not be contro- 
verted or questioned by the government of Great Britain. This au- 
thority is no other than the Parliament of the United Kingdom. _ In 
two acts — one passed in 1817, and the other in 1819 — it is admitted 
that the Belize is not within the British dominions. In these acts 
provision is made for the punishment of crimes committed at Belize, 
which otherwise could not be punished by any existing law, because 



J CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Belize, as expressly alleged, "was not a British dominion. In 1826, 
Great Britain renewed, in her treaty with Mexico, the special grant 
made to her by Spain in the treaties of 1783 and 1786, to enter into 
and occupy the Belize upon the same terms and with the same restric- 
tions as those imposed upon her by Spain. The United States, while 
they concede that Great Britain has rights in the Belize, positively 
deny that the Belize is a British province, or any part of the British 
dominions ; and in maintaining the policy referred to, they are bound 
to resist any attempt to convert it into a British colony. 

The protectorate which Great Britain has assumed over the Mos- 
quito Indians is a most palpable infringement of her treaties with 
Spain, to which reference has just been made ; and the authority she 
is there exercising, under pretence of this protectorate, is in deroga- 
tion of the sovereign rights of several of the Central American States, 
and contrary to the manifest spirit and intention of the treaty of April 
19, 1850, with the United States. 

Though, ostensibly, the direct object of the Clayton and Bulwer 
treaty was to guaranty the free and common use of the contemplated 
ship-canal across the Isthmus of Darien, and to secure such use to all 
nations by mutual treaty stipulations to that effect, there were other 
and highly important objects sought to be accomplished by that con- 
vention. The stipulation regarded most of all, by the United States, 
is that for discontinuing the use of her assumed protectorate of the 
Mosquito Indians, and with it the removal of all pretext whatever for 
interfering with the territorial arrangements which the Central Amer- 
ican States may wish to make among themselves. It was the intention, 
as it is obviously the import, of the treaty of April 19, 1850, to place 
Great Britain under an obligation to cease her interpositions in the 
affairs of Central America, and to confine herself to the enjoyment of 
her limited rights in the Belize. She has, by this treaty of 1850, 
obligated herself not to occupy or colonize any part of Central Amer- 
ica, or to exercise any dominion therein. Notwithstanding these 
stipulations, she still asserts the right to hold possession of, and to 
exercise control over, large districts of that country and important 
islands in the Bay of Honduras, the unquestionable appendages of the 
Central American States. This jurisdiction is not less mischievous in 
its effects, nor less objectionable to us, because it is covertly exercised 
(partly, at least) in the name of a miserable tribe of Indians, who 
have, in reality, no political organization, no actual government, not 
even the semblance of one, except that which is created by British 
authority and upheld by British power. 

This anomalous state of things is exceedingly annoying to the 
States of Central America, and but little less so to the United States ; 
for through the Bay of Honduras and across some of these States lies 
one of the most desirable routes to our possessions on the Pacific. 
This interference, it will be recollected, did. not assume a marked 
character until after our acquisition of California. 

Great Britain should be frankly assured that the policy to which I 
have alluded, and to which the United States mean to adhere, is 
exclusively political. As relates to commerce, this government 
neither aims at nor desires any advantage, in our intercourse with 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



s 

7 



the nations on this continent, which, it would not willingly see 
extended to the whole world. 

The object which it is hoped yon may be able to accomplish is to 
induce Great Britain to withdraw from all control over the territories 
and islands of Central America, and, if possible, over the Belize also, 
and to abstain from intermeddling with the political affairs of the 
governments and people in that region of the world, This object is 
the more earnestly desired by the United States, as it is apparent 
that the tendency of events in that quarter is to give a foothold to 
British power there, in contravention of the policy which this govern- 
ment is resolved to sustain. 

With your ample knowledge of the facts, it is believed that it will 
be easy for you to satisfy the government of Great Britain that it has 
no right to intervene in the political affairs of Central America, 
founded upon any dominion she can fairly claim in any part thereof, 
and that no obligation of duty or interest is imposed upon her to 
become a volunteer in the matter. 

It is true she has some rights, as I have before stated, in the 
Belize ; but when restricted to proper limits, no part of it is in 
Central America. These rights are, however, very few, as will be 
perceived by the second and third articles of the treaty between her 
and Spain, dated the 14th of July, 1786. The second article defines 
the extent of the district upon which British subjects may enter for 
the purposes specified in the third article, which contains an express 
admission that the Belize then belonged to the crown of Spain ; and 
in it Great Britain stipulates in no ambiguous terms that her subjects, 
who have the right to enter it to cut dye-wood and mahogany, shall 
not use this limited right as a pretext for establishing " in that coun- 
try any plantation of sugar, coffee, cacao, or other kind of articles^ or 
any kind of fabric or manufacture, by means of mills or machinery, 
whatsoever," with the exception of saw-mills for cutting the wood 
which they have permission to take from that district of country. 
To enter into the country upon such conditions, for the single purpose 
granted, the British right cannot be well questioned ; but this right 
is understood to be now of very little value, and, possibly, as a 
matter of interest and good policy, Great Britain may be willing to 
renounce it entirely ; but her pretensions beyond this right cannot be 
regarded in any other light than as encroachments which ought to 
be abandoned. To show that her. privilege is thus circumscribed, 
nothing more is necessary than to read the first article of the treaty 
to which I have alluded. Though a labored attempt has been made 
to pervert it, the language is too precise and explicit to give plausi- 
bility to such an effort. 

That article stipulates (I quote the language of the treaty) that 
"his Britannic Majesty's subjects, and the other colonists who have 
hitherto enjoyed the protection of England, shall evacuate the country 
of the Mosquitos, as well as the continent in general and the islands 
adjacent, without exception, situated beyond the line hereinafter de- 
scribed as what ought to be the frontier or the extent of country 
granted by his Catholic Majesty to the English for the uses specified 
in the 3d article of the present convention, and in addition to the 



8 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

country already granted to them (the Belize) in virtue of the stipula- 
tions agreed upon by the commissioners of the two crowns in 1783." 

After reading the treaties with Spain of 1783 and 1786, in which 
Great Britain renounces, in terms the most explicit and comprehensive 
in the English language, all right to any territorial possessions in any 
part of Central America, all sovereign rights in behalf of the Mos- 
quitos, and all claim to a protectorate over that horde of savages, it 
would seem to he useless to go beyond those treaties for facts to ex- 
plode the pretensions she now asserts for herself in regard to this pro- 
tectorate. Clear as both of these treaties are against such pretensions, 
it is nevertheless true that one of her Britannic Majesty's late prin- 
cipal secretaries of state for foreign affairs, Lord Palmerston, has 
endeavored to pervert, and by construction to render them meaning- 
less, in the same manner that her present secretary attempts to render 
ineffective the treaty with the United States of the 19th of April, 
1850. The boldness of the attempt with respect to the treaty of 1786, 
and its ill success, is shown by a proceeding in relation thereto in the 
British Parliament within one year after it was concluded. 

The record of this proceeding is not found in the more general re- 
pository of parliamentary debates, " Hansard's Collection," and it 
could not have been in the recollection of Lord Palmerston when he 
wrote his famous letter upon this treaty and that of 1783, addressed 
to Seiior Castillon, in 1849. As this proceeding shows the ground- 
lessness of the claim then, as now, set up to this protectorate, and all 
other British claims in Central America, I deem it proper to present 
herein a succinct account of it. 

On the 26th of March, 1787, a motion was made in the House of 
Peers by Lord Eawdon, "that the terms of the convention of July 
14th, 1786, do not meet the favorable opinion of this House." On this 
motion a long debate ensued between Lords Eawdon, Carlisle, Stor- 
mont, Hawke, and Porchester, in support of the motion, and the Duke 
of Manchester, who negotiated the treaty of 1783, the Marquis of Car- 
marthen, secretary for foreign affairs, who negotiated the convention 
of 1786, and the Lord Chancellor, the celebrated Thurlow. 

Lord Eawdon, on introducing his motion, stated "that the Mos- 
quito shore, given up to Spain by the treaty of 1786, had been for more 
than a century in the possession of Great Britain ; that it consisted of 
a territory of between four and five hundred miles in length, and was 
nearly of the depth of one hundred miles inland from the sea ; that 
there were on it various settlements, and that the residents, at the 
time of its cession, consisted of near one thousand five hundred British 
subjects, including whites, male and female, persons of mixed color, 
and their slaves ; that a regular form of government had been estab- 
lished on it many years since, consisting of a council, &c. ; that it 
was a settlement of great value and importance to this country, and 
that our claim to it was as good as our claim to the island of Jamaica." 
In support of these assertions, his lordship produced various docu- 
ments from the governor and assembly of the island of Jamaica and 
other corroborating papers. In exchange for this valuable settlement, 
he said, the British ministers had contented themselves with accepting 
a narrow slip of territory of between eleven and twelve miles in ex- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 9 

tent only. Lord Rawdon then proceeded to censure the ministers, 
especially for the fourteenth article of the convention, by which the 
King of Spain promises not to exercise any act of severity against the 
Mosquitos inhabiting in part the countries which are to be evacuated 
on account of the connexions which may have subsisted between the 
said Indians and the English, which his lordship declared to be "a 
most degrading humiliation of Great Britain." 

The Earl of Carlisle, in the same manner, spoke of the Mosquito 
shore as a settlement that had been in the undisturbed possession of 
Great Britain for more than a century. He considered the ministers 
especially censurable "for having hung up the humiliation of G-reat 
Britain in every court in Europe, in an article so degrading to the 
national honor as the 14th article of the convention, because there 
could be no secret reason for such a mortifying sacrifice of the spirit 
of the country." Lord Stormont, likewise, particularly enlarged on 
the 14th article as an unnecessary degradation of the country ; and 
he said "the Mosquito Indians had proved themselves faifchful allies, 
and had invariably adhered to the interests of Great Britain." He 
contended that "they were an independent people, and that we had 
no right whatever to deliver them over to the Spanish yoke." 

On the part of the ministry, the Duke of Manchester and the Mar- 
quis of Carmarthen said very little more than in support of their own 
personal agency in the treaty of 1783, and the convention of 1786 ; 
the defence being left to the lord chancellor, the champion of the 
administration, who left the woolsack, and in a most masterly manner 
answered the various arguments that had been urged in support of the 
motion. 

He began with declaring that " he had expected to have heard the 
question spoken to with that degree of explicitness and candor that 
belonged to it. He had looked for more accuracy of description, in 
point of geographical character, than had been attempted. The Mos- 
quito shore had been talked of as a tract of country extending between 
four and five hundred miles, without the smallest mention of the 
swamps and morasses with which it was interspersed, nor any allow- 
ance for the parts of it that were actually impossible to be either cul- 
tivated or inhabited. With regard to settlements, it would be 
imagined, by those who were strangers to the fact, that there had 
been a regular government, a regular council, and established laws 
peculiar to the territory ; when the fact was, there neither had existed 
one nor the other." His lordship went into the history of the settle- 
ment, tracing it down from the year 1650 to the year 1777, mention- 
ing Lord Godolphin's treaty, and all its circumstances, and deducing 
arguments from each fact he mentioned, to prove that the Mosquito 
shore never had been fairly deemed to be a British settlement ; but 
that a detachment of soldiers had been landed from the island of Ja- 
maica, who had erected fortifications, which had been afterwards 
abandoned bv order of the government at home. He instanced the 
transactions on the subject of the peace of Paris, in 1763, when Gov- 
ernor Lyttleton governed Jamaica, and enlarged upon them to show 
that this country, by the peace of Paris, had renounced whatever 



10 CENTRAL AMERICAN" AFfAiKE 

claim she might before that period have fancied she had a right to 
maintain ; and had given a fresh proof of her having done so, in the 
year 1777, when Lord George Germain©, the secretary ©f the Ameri- 
can department, sent out Mr. Lawrie to the Mosquito shore to see that 
the stipulations of that treaty between this country and Spain were? 
carried fully into execution. His lordship enlarged very much on 
these particulars ; and after enforcing and applying them to the argu- 
ments that had been urged in defence of the motion, proceeded to 
notice what Lord Carlisle had said on the delicacy of questions of that- 
sort, declaring " that he had been happy to hear the matter so judi- 
ciously observed upon.- His lordship said he should have been ex- 
tremely glad if the whole grounds of the transactions could, with 
prudence and propriety, have been gone into ; but as that could not 
be done, he must meet the matter as he found it. With regard to 
the degradation of the country that the 14th article was pretended to 
hold out, he denied the fact. The Mosquitos were not our allies, they 
were not a people we were bound by treaty to protect, nor were there 
anything like the number of British subjects there that had been 
stated J the number having been, according to the last report from 
thence, only 120 men, and 16 women. The fact was, we had pro- 
cured (by contract, if the noble lord pleased) a stipulation that the 
king of Spain would not punish those British subjects, and the Mos- 
quitos, who had possessed themselves improperly of the rights belong- 
ing to the Spanish crown,, and, in consequence of such irregular pos- 
session, had persisted for a course of time, but with frequent interrup- 
tion, in the enjoyment of those rights. His lordship repelled the 
argument that the settlement was a regular and legal settlement with 
' some sort of indignation ; and, so far from agreeing, as had been con- 
tended, that we had uniformly remained in the quiet and unques-* 
tionable possession of our claim to the territory, he called upon the 
noble Viscount Stormont to declare, as a man of honor, whether he 
did not know the contrary." 

The purport of Lord Stormont' s answer is not given. Lord Baw- 
don, however, defended his motion, and produced some documents by 
General Dalling, when governor of Jamaica, to prove that a superin- 
tendent had been sent over to the settlement on the Mosquito shore,, 
'at that time, with a view to form a government. 

The lord chancellor replied that he was aware of the application 
for a charter ; but he wished the noble lord had mentioned the answer 
that was given to that application when it was made. His lordship 
said "the having sent a superintendent over with a view to the estab- 
lishment of a regular council, &c, did not, by any means, prove that 
the government at home had countenanced the scheme. He referred 
the noble lord to what had been before stated relative to the conduct 
of Governor Lyttleton, in 1763, and of Lord George Germaine, in 
1777, as an ample proof that, let what would have been the state of 
the' Mosquito shore, or the opinion of this country, in 1744 or 1748, 
the idea of settling there had been changed completely since, and the 
fortifications recently abandoned and withdrawn." After some fur- 
ther debate, (the particulars of which are not given,) the question was 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 11 

taken and decided against Lord Rawdon's motion to condemn the 
convention by a vote of fifty-three to seventeen.* 

Nothing could be more fatal — not the treaty of 1786 itself — to the 
pretensions set up by Great Britain for herself and the Mosquito In- 
dians, than this debate and the vote on the motion to censure the 
treaty of 1786. The lords who supported the motion of censure on 
the administration, for having made the treaty, assert, it is true, that 
Great Britain and her ally, the Mosquitos, had rights before the 
treaty of 1786, but admit that these rights were given up by that 
treaty. This position destroys the pretensions of Great Britain, both 
for herself and the Mosquitos, of having rights there after that treaty. 
On the other hand. Lord Thurlow, in his defence of the administra- 
tion, denied all claims on the part of the Mosquito Indians, as well 
as on the part of Great Britain, except what was given by the clause 
relative to the Belize. His position, which was concurred in by nearly 
the whole house of lords, is therefore equally fatal to these preten- 
sions of the British government. In one view or the other, the vote 
of the whole house of lords is an acknowledgment that Great Britain, 
after 1786, had no rights whatever in Central America, or in that 
vicinity, except the limited usufruct to a small tract of country — the 
Belize — not claimed as a part of Central America, and that the Mos- 
quito Indians had no sovereign rights to any territory whatever. 

The acts of Parliament show that Great Britain had no dominion 
there — not even in the Belize ; and by four treaties, three with 
Spain and one with the United States, (that of the 19th of April, 
1850,) she has precluded herself from interposing in the affairs of 
Central America. I therefore trust you will encounter but little diffi- 
culty in inducing her to abandon unfounded pretensions, and to re- 
spect these solemn treaty stipulations. 

The whole Central American question, so far as Great Britain has 
seen fit to connect herself with it, is entirely confided to your man- 
agement, under such instructions as you may from time to time desire, 
or such as the President may consider himself called upon to furnish, 
in the progress of the discussions which may arise thereon. 

********* 

lam, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MARCY. 
James Buchanan, Esq., dkc, dc, &c. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[No. 11.] Department of State, v 

Washington, September 12, 1853. 

Sir : Your two despatches, No. 3, (July 27,) and No. 4, (August 

24,) have been received. I herewith transmit to you the President's 

full power to conclude a treaty with Great Britain in regard to the 

Central American questions. A copy of the despatch of her Majesty's 

°This debate is found more at large in Parliamentary Register, 1787, vol. 22. 



12 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

principal secretary of state for foreign affairs to Mr. Crampton, con- 
taining the " overtures, " &c., dated January 19, 1853, was for- 
warded to you from this department on the 30th of July last. I do 
not find any other document on file in the State Department contain- 
ing overtures, &c, on the Central American questions ; hut it is 
probahle that in the conferences between my predecessors and the 
British minister, in relation to the Mosquito protectorate and the 
affairs of San Juan, (Greytown,) overtures may have been suggested 
by him. 

The general views of the President in regard to Central American 
affairs were presented in the first instructions with which you were 
furnished. The President did not deem it necessary to be more 
explicit as to the points of difference which might arise until he was 
fully possessed of the views of her Majesty's government. The main 
object to be accomplished is to induce the British government to with- 
draw from all interference in the political affairs of the Central Amer- 
ican states and the adjacent islands. 

It is quite evident, judging by communications received from her 
Majesty's government, particularly in regard to the difficulties at San 
Juan de Nicaragua, that a difference of opinion between it and the 
United States exists as to the construction and effect of the Clayton 
and Bulwer treaty ; but how wide that difference is, and on what par- 
ticular points it is raised, have not yet been very clearly disclosed. 
This difference will be, as the President presumes, fully known when 
these matters shall be brought by you under the consideration of the 
British government. 

Your intimate knowledge of the subject in all its bearings, and of 
the general views of the President which are embodied in your in- 
structions, will enable you to cover the whole American ground in 
opening the negotiation. How much will be conceded and how 
much contested by Great Britain remains to be seen. Until points of 
difference are discussed, and the views opposed to those here enter- 
tained are fully considered, the President does not deem it advisable 
to fix on ultimata. These, if desired in a more advanced state of the 
negotiation, will be furnished. 

In relation to the Belize I believe your instructions are sufficiently 
explicit. To the territorial extent, and for the limited uses, described 
in her treaty of 1.786 with Spain, Great Britain has a right to con- 
tinue in possession of that country. Though the United States cannot 
claim as a matter of right that she shall altogether withdraw from 
Belize, it is a very important object to prevail on her to give up that 
territory, now regarded as of very little value. This government is 
not aware that Great Britain claims to have full sovereignty over it ; 
but, if she does, the United States would contest that- claim, and 
regard the assertion of it as an infringement of the Monroe doctrine — 
a doctrine which it is the policy of the President to maintain. 

I believe Great Britain has never defined the character of her claim 
to possess what is called " the colony of the Bay Islands." It does 
not appear to be one of her organized colonies. She has not, in 
explicit language, claimed sovereignty over it, though her acts have 
indicated such a purpose. Whatever may have been her rights or 



. CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 13 

pretension to rights over this colony, they were all given up, accord- 
ing to the view here taken of the subject, by the Clayton and Bulwer 
treaty. 

The President cannot conceive that Great Britain can have any 
plausible grounds for excepting this possession from the operation of 
that treaty, and he is quite sure she can allege none to which he could 
concede ; yet he thinks it the wiser course to give her an opportunity 
to explain her views thereon before presenting a solemn and formal 
protest against her further occupancy of that colony. The President 
expects that you will treat this subject in such a manner as to leave 
no doubt on the minds of her Majesty's ministers that the abandon- 
ment of that colony will be insisted on by the United States. 

It is presumed that the only part of that colony to which England 
will be disposed to attach much value, or have any inducement to re- 
tain, is the island of Kuatan. From an intimation made to me, it 
may be that she will take the position that this island does not belong 
to any of the Central American States, but is to be regarded in the 
same condition as one of the West India islands. By reference to the 
treaties between Great Britain and Spain, you will find this island 
clearly recognised as a Spanish possession, and a part of the old vice- 
royalty of Guatemala. 

Should an attempt be made to distinguish between this island and 
the States of Central America, upon the ground above suggested, it is 
probable that more full information than we now have in regard to 
that subject maybe obtained from, or through, Mr. Molina, the diplo- 
matic representative near this government from Costa Rica and 
Guatemala. On receiving an intimation from you that further in- 
formation thereon may be necessary, every effort will be here made to 
procure and forward it to you. 

A copy of the convention of the 8th of February last will be for- 
warded to you. 

With this will be sent a copy of the Congressional Globe, if it can 
be procured, containing the debates of the last session of Congress, 
and the called session of the Senate. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MARCY. 

Jambs Buchanan, Esq., dtc. } &c, <&c„ 



Mi\ Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[No. 21.] Department of State, 

Washington, December 1, 1853. 

Sir: Your despatch (No. 16) of the 12th ultimo came to hand yes- 
terday, and was laid before the President. He approves entirely of 
the suggestion made by you to Lord Clarendon to place the Mosquito 
Indians in the same relation to Nicaragua that our own Indians sus- 
tain to the United States, since it is in strict accordance with the views 
of this government on that subject, as will be seen from the following 



14 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. . 

extract from trie Department's instructions to Mr. Borland, nnder date 
of the 17th of June last : 

1 ' Admitting these Indians to he what the United States and Nicar- 
agua regard them — a savage trihe, having only possessory rights to 
the country they occupy, and not the sovereignty of it — they cannot 
fairly he required to yield up their actual possessions without some 
compensation. Might not this most troublesome element in this Cen- 
tral American question he removed by Nicaragua, in a way just in itself, 
and entirely compatible with her national honor ? Let her arrange 
this matter* as we arrange those of the same character with the Indian 
tribes inhabiting portions of our own territory. I think it would be 
proper for you to urge upon Nicaragua this view of the subject. An 
inconsiderable annuity secured to the Mosquitos for their right of occu- 
pancy to the country in their possession given up to Nicaragua, would, 
I believe, cause the British government to abandon their protectorate 
over them ; assurance of this is given to the United States. Such a 
course would not, in my opinion, be an acknowledgment directly or by 
implication of the rightful interference by the government of Great 
Britain in the Mosquito question." 

The sequel of the agreement between Messrs. Webster and Cramp- 
ton, about which inquiry is made by you, was an instruction to Mr. 
Kerr, the charge d'affaires of the United States to Nicaragua, direct- 
ing him to present the agreement to the Nicaraguan government for 
its assent thereto. He complied with the instruction, but the applica- 
tion was rejected. Mr. Walsh was also sent to the republic of Costa 
Bica, as a special agent of this government, with instructions to pre- 
sent the agreement to the consideration of the government of that re- 
public. This he did, and it was accepted by the Costa Kican govern- 
ment. 

The Department has no spare copy of the document containing the 
letter of Lord Palmerston to Mr. Castellon, asked for by you ; but if 
you will turn to the tenth volume of Executive Documents, 1st session 
31st Congress, page 304, the letter referred to may there be found. 

As it regards your inquiry about the number of the Mosquito In- 
dians, I am unable to ascertain, with any degree of certainty, what 
that number is. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MARCY. 

James Buchanan, Esq., &c. } &c, &c. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 
[Extracts.] 

[No. 19.] Legation of the United States, 

London, January 5, 1854. 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches 
Nos. 20, 21, 22 ; and 23, of 19th November, and 1st, 3d, and 16th De- 
cember, respectively. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 15 

I have not deemed it advisable to press the Central American nego- 
tiation since my last interview with Lord Clarendon in November. The 
causes for this delay have been the unsettled condition of the British 
cabinet in consequence of the resignation of Lord Palmerston, and his 
subsequent withdrawal of that resignation, the state of the Busso- 
Turkish question, to which the ministry have been devoting themselves 
fruitlessly, as it is now believed, to the task of preventing a war between 
Great Britain and Bussia, and the desire which I felt to receive your 
instructions in regard to the suggestion which I had made to Lord 
Clarendon, that the Mosquito Indians might be placed in the same rela- 
tion to Nicaragua that our own Indians sustain to the United States. 
Your satisfactory despatch (No. 21) has removed all doubts on this 
latter subject. 

I have reason to believe that my omission to press the Central Amer- 
ican questions at the present most important crisis between Great 
Britain and Russia has been properly appreciated by Lord Clarendon. 

On Monday last, however, I addressed his lordship a note, request- 
ing an interview, to which I have received his answer, appointing to- 
morrow (Friday,) at half-past three o'clock, for our meeting — too late 
for the next steamer. Indeed, I had reason to expect that ere this he 
would himself have taken the initiative, and have invited me to an 
interview. ******* 

I am, sir, &c, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Hon. W. L. Marcy, dfcc, &c, &c. } Washington. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 
[Extracts.] 

[No. 20.] Legation of the United States, 

London, January 10, 1864. 

Sir : I had a long interview on Friday last with Lord Clarendon at 
the Foreign Office. We had much desultory and pleasant conversation 
on various topics ; but in my report I shall confine myself to the sub- 
stance of what passed between us in relation to the pending questions 

between the two governments. 

******** 

After our conversation had ended on the fishery and reciprocity 
questions, he informed me that he had presented my suggestion to 
the cabinet, that Nicaragua should treat the Mosquitos within her 
limits as Great Britain and the United States treated their own In- 
dians, under similar circumstances ; and they thought, as he had done, 
that it was highly reasonable. I told him I was glad to learn this, 
and was happy to inform him I could now state, from advices received 
by the last steamer, that you were of the same opinion. 

He then asked, in what manner shall we carry this into effect? and 
intimated that the appointment of commissioners by the two govern- 



16 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

ments for this purpose might he the hest mode of proceeding. I told 
him I was not then prepared to express an opinion on the subject, but 
would take it into consideration. The proportion of territory to he 
occupied by the Mosquitos until their title was extinguished by Nicar- 
agua, ought to depend very much upon their number. Lord John 
Eussell had stated this to be thirty or forty thousand, whilst from my 
information, which was, however, vague, it did not exceed as many 
hundreds. He replied, that Mr. G-reen, the British consul and agent 
at Bluefields, was now in London, and had mentioned to him that my 
estimate of their number was probably correct in regard to the Mosqui- 
tos north of the San Juan, though there might be a thousand more ; 
but that the Mosquitos south of the San Juan were so numerous as to 
render Lord John's estimate of the whole not excessive. I told him 
I had never heard that any portion of this tribe resided in Costa Rica, 
and I thought there must be some mistake in the statement of Mr. 
G-reen. He then asked what we should do with the grants of land 
which had been made to individuals by the king of the Mosquitos ; and 
I answered that under the law of all European nations since the dis- 
covery of America, as well as by the uniform practice both of Great 
Britain and the United States, such grants made by Indians were ab- 
solutely void. I also stated to him, somewhat in detail, the decision 
on this point made by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 
case of Johnson vs. Mcintosh, (8 Wheaton, 543,) to which he appeared 
to listen with marked attention. 

After this we had a discursive and rambling conversation, embracing 
the Buatan and Belize questions, the Clayton and Bulwer treaty, 
and several other matters which I do not propose to detail. In the 
course of it he stated distinctly that this treaty was, in their opinion, 
entirely prospective in its operation, and did not require them to aban- 
don any of their possessions in Central America. At this I expressed 
my astonishment, and we discussed the point in an earnest but good- 
natured manner. 

In regard to Ruatan, he said he had the papers in a box before him 
to prove their title to that island ; but it would consume too much 
time to read them, and therefore he had thought of submitting his 
views to me respecting it in writing. This suggestion pleased me 
much, as I desired to present to his lordship a memorandum which I 
had prepared, embracing our whole case in Central America. I told 
him, therefore, I should be much gratified to receive his views in 
writing ; and at the same time informed him, that without changing 
our mode of personal conference, I desired also to deliver him a writ- 
ten memorandum to which he might at all times refer, containing a 
statement of the case on the part of my government. With this he 
expressed himself to be much pleased. I am sorry that I shall not be 
able to furnish you a copy of this memorandum by the present steamer. 

One incident may be worth particular mention. In the course of 
the conversation, he said the Bay Islands were but of little value ; but 
if British honor required their retention they could never be surren- 
dered. I made some playful remark in reference to the idea of British 
honor being involved in so small an affair. He then became quite 
earnest on the point of honor, which might, he observed, be as much 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 17 

involved in subjects of little as of great value. To tin's I assented, 
but said, that when the construction of a treaty was really doubtful, 
which I did not admit upon the present occasion, and when the 
friendly relations between two great countries were at stake, there 
could in such a case be no point of honor involved in the one yielding 
to the other what was admitted to be of but little value. He replied 
that in this view of the case I might be correct. 

In regard to Belize, there was not the least appearance of yielding 
on the part of his lordship. He repudiated the idea with some 
warmth that any person should suppose they had surrendered this 
settlement under the Clayton and Bulwer treat}?-. 

^ ' ^ ^ ^ * ^t ^ :£: 



The time has therefore arrived when it becomes indispensable that 
I should receive the President's instructions on this point. In form- 
ing his opinion, it may be worthy of consideration, that the British 
have been in the actual possession of Belize, under treaty, for more 
than seventy years ; that no period was fixed when they should with- 
draw from this possession ; that Spain declared war against Great 
Britain on the 11th October, 1796 ; that an attack was made from 
Yucatan on Belize in 1798, which was repelled by the British set- 
tlers ; and that for nearly a quarter of a century it has been under a 
regular colonial government, without attracting the notice of the 
United States. 

In any event, I shall do my whole duty in first urging their with- 
drawal from the whole colony ; and if that should not prove success- 
ful, then from the portion of it south of the Sibun. But what am I. 
to do in case I shall be unsuccessful in both or either of these particu- 
lars ? I shall await your answer with considerable anxiety. 

When I pointed out to Lord Clarendon on Bailey's map, which lay 
before him, the extent of the encroachments which British settlers had 
made beyond the treaty limits, his only answer was, in a tone of pleas- 
antry, that we ought not to complain of encroachments, and instanced 
our acquisition of Texas. I then took occasion to give him informa- 
tion on this subject, for which he thanked me, and said that he had, 
never understood it before. 

Beturning again to the Mosquitos, am I to consent that they shall, 
continue in the occupation of the territory assigned to them by the 
agreement between Messrs. Webster and Crampton, of April 30, 1852, 
until their title shall be extinguished by Nicaragua ? Whether this 
assignment be unreasonable or not would depend much upon their 
number. You can doubtless ascertain at Washington whether any 
considerable number of the tribe inhabit the country south of the San 
Juan, as stated by Mr. Green. 

In regard to the Mosquitos, the question of the greatest difficulty 
would seem to be, in what manner can Great Britain and the United 
States interfere, as suggested by Lord Clarendon, to prevent Nicaragua 
from depriving these Indians of their right of occupancy without a fair 
equivalent. It would seem that this could be best accomplished by a 
treaty with. Nicaragua. The whole detail presents embarrassments 
2 A 



18 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

which, will be annoying without the consent of Nicaragua, and yet I 
am persuaded the British government care little or nothing for this 
consent. They have evidently formed a very unfavorable opinion of 
that State, and greatly prefer Costa Kica. It would appear, from 
what his lordship informed me, Mr. Marcoleta had told Mr. Crampton 
that Costa Kica is jealous of the influence of Nicaragua with the United 
States. 

You would naturally desire to know something of his majesty the 
present king of the Mosquitos. I had, on a former occasion, stated 
to Lord Clarendon that he was drunken and worthless. At this in- 
terview his lordship informed me I was mistaken; that the present 
king was a decent and well-behaved youth of between twenty-two and 
twenty-three, who resided in Mr. Green's family, though he believed 
his late majesty, to whom I had doubtless referred, was a bad fellow. 
Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Hon. Wm. L. Marct, 

Secretary of State. 



Statement for the Earl of Clarendon. 

When the negotiations commenced, which resulted in the conclu- 
sion of the Clayton and Bulwer convention of April 19, 1850, the 
British government were in possession of the whole extensive coast of 
Central America, sweeping round from the Rio Hondo to the port and 
harbor of San Juan de Nicaragua, except that portion [of] it between 
the Sarstoon and Cape Honduras, together with the adjacent Hondu- 
ras island of Euatan. 

The government of the United States seriously contested the claim 
of Great Britain to any of these possessions, with the single exception 
of that part of the Belize settlement lying between the Rio Hondo and 
the Sebun, the usufruct of which, for a special purpose,, and with a 
careful reservation of his sovereign rights over it, had been granted 
by the king of Spain to the British under the convention of 1786. 

The progress of events had rendered Central America an object of 
special interest to all the commercial nations of the world, on account 
of the railroads and canals then proposed to be constructed through 
the isthmus, for the purpose of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific 
oceans. 

Great Britain and the United States, both having large and valua- 
ble possessions on the shores of the Pacific and an extensive trade with 
the countries beyond, it was natural that the one should desire to pre- 
vent the other from being placed in a position to exercise exclusive 
control, in peace or in war, over any of the grand thoroughfares be- 
tween the two oceans. This was a main feature of a policy which 
dictated the Clayton and Bulwer convention. To place the two na- 
tions on an exact equality, and thus to remove all causes of mutual 
jealousy, each of them agreed by this convention never to occupy, 
fortify, or exercise dominion over any portion of Central America. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 19 

Both, parties adopted this self-denying ordinance for the purpose of 
terminating serious misunderstandings then existing between them, 
which might have endangered their friendly relations. 

Whether the United States acted wisely or not in relinquishing 
their right as an independent nation to acquire territory in a region 
on their own continent, which may become necessary for the security 
of their communication with their important and valuable possessions 
on the Pacific, is another and a different question. But they have 
concluded the convention ; their faith is pledged ; and under such cir- 
cumstances they never look behind the record. 

The language of the convention is, properly, mutual, though in 
regard to the United States it can only restrain them from making 
future acquisitions, because it is well known that, in point of fact, 
they were not in the occupation of a foot of territory in Central 
America, In reference to Great Britain the case is different, and the 
language applies not only to the future, but the past ; because she was 
then in the actual exercise of dominion over a very large portion of 
the eastern coast of Central America. Whilst, therefore, the United 
(States has no occupancy to abandon, under the convention, Great 
Britain had extensive possessions to restore to the States of Guatemala, 
Honduras, and Nicaragua, 

And yet the British government, up till the present moment, have 
not deemed it proper to take the first step towards the performance of 
their obligations under this convention. They are still in the actual 
occupancy of nearly the whole coast of Central America, including 
the island of Ruatan, in the very same manner that they were before 
its conclusion. This delay, on their part, surely cannot proceed from 
any obscurity in the language of the convention. 

The first article declares that the governments of the United States 
and Great Britain agree that neither will " occupy or fortify or colo- 
nize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, 
the Mosquito coast, or any part of Central America." And from 
abundant caution, in view of the Mosquito protectorate, the article 
proceeds as follows: "Nor will either make use of any protection 
which either affords or may afford, or any alliance which either has 
or may have, to or with any State or people for the purpose of * * * 
occupying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mos- 
quito coast, or any part of Central America, or of assuming or exer- 
cising dominion over the same." This rendered into plain English 
is, that the parties shall not exercise dominion over any part of Cen- 
tral America, either directly or indirectly, either by themselves or in 
the name of others. 

It has been said that the first article of the convention acknow- 
ledged, by implication, the right of Great Britain to the Mosquito 
protectorate — a right which the United States have always contested 
and resisted ; a right which would continue to Great Britain that en- 
tire control over the Nicaragua ship-canal, and the other avenues of 
communication between the two oceans, which it was the very object of 
the convention to abolish, and to defeat that equality between the 
parties in Central America, which it was its special purpose to secure. 



20 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Surely the United States could never have been guilty of such a sui- 
cidal absurdity. 

But admitting, for the sake of argument merely, that the United 
States have acknowledged the existence of this protectorate : it would 
he difficult, restricted in its use as it has been by the convention, to 
conceive for what object of the least importance it could be employed. 
It assuredly could not be for the purpose of " occupying" " the Mos- 
quito coast," or u of assuming or exercising dominion over the same/'" 
because this has been expressly prohibited by the convention. 

Great Britain has not even retired from the island of Kuatan, in 
obedience to the convention. Here no question can possibly arise 
from any alleged Mosquito protectorate. This is clearly a Central 
American island, belonging to the State of Honduras, and but thirty 
miles distant from her port of Truxillo. If the convention plainly 
embraces any object whatever, this must be Kuatan. And yet Great 
Britain has not only continued to occupy this island, but since the 
date of the convention she has actually established a colonial govern- 
ment over it. And not over it alone, but, adding thereto five other 
neighboring islands on the Central American coast, has converted 
them all into the British colony of the " Bay islands." Public senti- 
ment is quite unanimous, in the United States, that the establishment 
of this colony is a palpable violation both of the letter and spirit of 
the Clayton and Bulwer convention. 

Kuatan is well known to be an island of great value and import- 
ance, on account of its excellent harbors, which are rare along that 
coast. Indeed, it has been described by a Spanish author '''as the 
key of the Bay of Honduras, and the focus of the trade of the neigh- 
boring countries." Such is its commanding geographical position 
that Great Britain, in possession of it, could completely arrest the 
trade of the United States in its passage to and from the isthmus. 
In vain may the convention have prohibited Great Britain from erect- 
ing or maintaining any fortifications commanding the Nicaragua 
canal, or in other portions of Central America, if she shall continue 
to exercise dominion over " the Bay islands." 

The United States now only ask that this convention shall be faith- 
fully executed by both parties. They wish that every avenue of com- 
munication across the isthmus shall be opened, not merely for their 
own benefit, but for that of Great Britain and the whole world. In 
this respect they would not, if they could, acquire any peculiar ad- 
vantages, because these might arouse the jealousy and distrust of other 
nations. 

The rights and duties of the respective parties have been ascertained 
and determined by the convention itself ; but as the justice of the pre- 
vious claim of Great Britain to her possessions in Central America 
has been since asserted in high quarters, it may not be improper to 
present the views of the government of the United States upon this 
subject. 

It need scarcely be repeated that the United States have always de- 
nied the validity'of this claim. They believe that Great Britain has 
surrendered nothing under the convention which she would not volun- 
tarily have done, from her own magnanimity and sense of justice, as 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 21 

soon as the question was brought home to her serious consideration. 
It would be a vain labor to trace the history of the connexion of Great 
Britain with, the Mosquito shore, and other portions of Central 
America, previous to her treaties with Spain of 1783 and 1786. This 
connexion doubtless originated from her desire to break down the 
monopoly of trade which Spain so jealously enforced with her American 
colonies, and to introduce into them British manufactures. The 
attempts of Great Britain to accomplish this object were pertinaciously 
resisted by Spain, and became the source of continual difficulties 
between the two nations. After a long period of strife, these were 
happily terminated by the treaties of 1783 and 1786, in as clear and 
explicit language as was ever employed on any similar occasion ; and 
the history of the time renders the meaning of this language, if 
possible, still more clear and explicit. 

The sixth article of the treaty of peace of September 3, 1783, was 
very distasteful to the king and cabinet of Great Britain. This 
abundantly appears from Lord John Russell's " Memorials and 
Correspondence of Charles James Fox." The British government, 
failing in their efforts to have this article deferred for six months, 
finally yielded a most reluctant consent to its insertion in the treaty. 

Why this reluctant consent? Because the 6th article stipulates 
that, with the exception of the territory between the river Wallis or 
Belize, and the Rio Hondo, within which permission was granted to 
British subjects to cut logwood, " all the English wbo may be dis- 
persed in any other parts, whether on the Spanish continent, (' Continent 
Espagnol,') or in any of the islands whatsoever, dependent on the 
aforesaid Spanish continent, and for whatever reason it might be, 
without exception, shall retire within the district which Las been 
above described, in the space of eighteen months, to be computed from 
the exchange of ratifications." And the treaty further expressly pro- 
vides, that the permission granted to cut logwood "shall not be 
considered as derogating in any wise from his (Catholic majesty's) 
rights of sovereignty" over this logwood district; and it stipulates, 
moreover, ""that if any fortifications should actually have been here- 
tofore erected, within the limits marked out, his Britannic majesty 
shall cause them all to be demolished, and he will order his subjects not 
to build any new ones." 

But notwithstanding these provisions, in the opinion of Mr. Fox, 
it was still in the power of the British government ' { to put our [their] 
own interpretation upon the words ' Continent Espagnol/ and to de- 
termine upon prudential considerations whether the Mosquito shore 
comes under the description or not." 

Hence the necessity for negotiations which should determine pre- 
cisely and expressly the territory embraced by the treaty of 1783. 
These produced the convention of the 14th July, 1786, and its very 
first article removed every doubt on the subject. This declares that 
"His Britannic majesty's subjects, and the other colonists who have 
hitherto enjoyed the protection of England, shall evacuate the country 
of the Mosquitos, as well as the continent in general and the islands 
adjacent, without exception," situated beyond the new limits pre- 
scribed by the coWention, within which British subjects were to be 



22 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

permitted to cut not only logwood but mahogany and all other wood ; 
and even this district is " indisputably acknowledged to belong of 
right to the crown of Spain." 

Thus what was meant by the u Continent Espagnol," in the treaty 
of 1783, is defined beyond all doubt by the convention of 1788, and 
the sovereignty of the Spanish king over the Mosquito shore, as well 
as over every other portion of the Spanish continent and the islands 
adjacent, is expressly recognised. 

It was just that. Great Britain should interfere to protect the Mos- 
quito Indians against the punishment to which they had exposed 
themselves as her allies from their legitimate and acknowledged sove- 
reign. The 14th article of the convention, therefore, provides that 
" his Catholic majesty, prompted solely by motives of humanity, prom- 
ises to the king of England that he will not exercise any act of 
severity against the Mosquitos inhabiting in part the countries which 
are to be evacuated by virtue of the present convention, on account of 
the connexions which may have subsisted between the said Indians 
and the English ; and his Britannic majesty, on his part, will strictly 
prohibit all his subjects from furnishing arms or warlike stores to the 
Indians in general situated uj)on the frontiers of the Spanish posses- 
sions." 

British honor required that these treaties with Spain should be 
faithfully observed, and from the contemporaneous history no doubt 
exists but that this was done ; that the orders required by the 15th 
article of the convention were issued by the British government, and 
that they were strictly carried into execution. 

In this connexion a reference to the significant proceedings in the 
House of Lords on March 26, 1787, ought not to be omitted. On that 
day a motion was made by Lord Rawdon, " That the terms of the 
convention of July 14, 1786, do not meet the favorable opinion of this 
House." The motion was discussed at considerable length and with 
great ability. The task of defending the ministry on this occasion 
was undertaken by Lord Chancellor Thurlow, and was most triumph- 
antly performed. He abundantly justified the ministry for having 
surrendered the Mosquito shore to Spain, and proved that " the Mos- 
quitos were not our allies ; they were not a people we were bound by 
treaty to protect." "His lordship repelled the argument, that the 
settlement was a regular and legal settlement, with some sort of in- 
dignation ; and so far from agreeing, as had been contended, that we 
had uniformly remained in the quiet and unquestionable possession of 
our claim to the territory, he called upon the noble Viscount Stormont 
to declare, as a man of honor, whether he did not know the contrary." 

Lord Rawdon's motion to condemn the convention was rejected by a 
vote of 53 to 17. 

It is worthy of special remark, that all sides of the House, whether 
approving or disapproving the convention, proceeded upon the express 
admission that it required Great Britain, employing its own language, 
to " evacuate the country of the Mosquitos." On this question the 
House of Lords were unanimous. 

At what period, then, did Great Britain renew^her claims to "the 
country of the Mosquitos, as well as the continedPin general and the 



• CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 23 

Islands adjacent, without exception?" It certainly was not in 1801, 
when under the treaty of Amiens she acquired the island of Trinidad 
from Spain, without any mention whatever of future acquisitions in 
America. It certainly was not in 1809, when she entered into a 
treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, with Spain, to resist the 
Emperor Napoleon in his attempts to conquer the Spanish monarchy. 
It certainly was not in 1814, when the commercial treaties which had 
previously existed between the two powers, including, it is presumed, 
those of 1783 and 1786, were revived. 

On all these occasions there was no mention whatever of any claims 
of Great Britain to the Mosquito protectorate, or to any of the Spanish 
American territories which she had abandoned. 

It was not in 1817 and 1819, when acts of the British parliament 
(57 and 59 Geo. Ill) distinctly acknowledged that the British settle- 
ment at Belize was " not within the territory and dominion of his 
majesty," but was merely " a settlement for certain purposes in the 
possession and under the protection of his majesty;" thus evincing, 
with a determined purpose to observe, with the most scrupulous good 
faith, the treaties of 1783 and 1786 with Spain. 

In the very sensible book of Captain Bonnycastle, of the corps of 
British royal engineers, on Spanish America, published at London 
in 1818, he gives no intimation whatever that Great Britain had 
revived her claim to the Mosquito protectorate. On the contrary, he 
describes the Mosquito shore as "a, tract of country which lies along 
part of the northern and eastern shore of Honduras," which had 
"been claimed by the'British." He adds, " the English held this 
country for eighty years, and abandoned it in 1787 and 1788." 

Thus matters continued until a considerable period after 1821, in 
which year the Spanish provinces composing the captain- generalship 
of Guatemala asserted and maintained their independence of Spain. 
It would be a work of supererogation to attempt to prove, at this 
period of the world's history, that these provinces, having by a suc- 
cessful revolution become independent states, succeeded within their 
respective limits to all the territorial rights of Spain. This will 
surely not be denied by the British government, which took so noble 
and prominent a part in securing the independence of all the Spanish 
American provinces. 

Indeed, Great Britain has recorded her adhesion to this principle 
of international law, in her treaty of the 26th December, 1826, with 
Mexico, then recently a revolted Spanish colony. By this -treaty, so 
far from claiming any right beyond the usufruct, which had been con- 
ceded to her under the convention with Spain of 1786, she recognises 
its continued existence and binding effect as between herself and Mex- 
ico, by obtaining and accepting from the government of the latter a 
stipulation that British subjects shall not be " disturbed or molested 
in the peaceable possession and exercise of whatever rights, privileges, 
and immunities they have at any time enjoyed within the limits de- 
scribed and laid down" by that convention. Whether the former 
Spanish sovereignty over Belize, subject to the British usufruct, re- 
verted of right to Mexico or to Guatemala may be seriously ques- 



24 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

tioned ; "but, in either case, this recognition by Great Britain is 
equally conclusive. 

And here it may he appropriate to observe, that Great Britain still 
continues in possession, not only of the district between the Kio 
Hondo and the Sibun, within which the king of Spain, under the 
convention of 1786, had granted her a license to cut mahogany and 
other woods, but the British settlers have extended this possession 
south to the river Sarstoon, one degree and a half of latitude beyond; 
" the limits described and laid down" by the convention. It is pre- 
sumed that the encroachments of these settlers south of the Sibun 
have been made without the authority or sanction of the British 
crown, and that no difficulty will exist in their removal. 

Yet, in view of all these antecedents, the island of Buatan, belong- 
ing to the State of Honduras, and within sight of its shores, was cap- 
tured in 1841 by Colonel McDonald, then her Britannic majesty's su- 
perintendent at Belize, and the flag of Honduras was hauled down 
and that of Great Britain was boisted in its place. This small State, 
incapable of making any effectual resistance, was compelled to submit, 
and the island has ever since been under British control. What 
makes this event more remarkable is, that it is believed a similar act 
of violence had been committed on Kuatan by the superintendent of 
Belize in 1835 ; but, on complaint by the federal government of the 
Central American States, then still in existence, the act was formally 
disavowed by the British government, and the island was restored to 
the authorities of the republic. 

No question can exist but that Kuatan was one of the "islands ad- 
jacent" to the American continent, which had been restored by Great 
Britain to Spain under the treaties of 1783 and 1786. Indeed, the 
most approved British gazetteers and geographers, up till the present 
date, have borne testimony to this fact, apparently without informa- 
tion from that hitherto but little known portion of the world, that the 
island had again been seized by her majesty's superintendent at Belize, 
and was now a possession claimed by Great Britain. 

When Great Britain determined to resume her dominion over the 
Mosquito shore, in the name of a protectorate, is not known with any 
degree of certainty in the United States. The first information on 
the subject, in the DejDartment of State at Washington, was contained 
in a despatch of the 20th January, 1842, from William S. Murphy, 
esq., special agent of the American government to Guatemala, in 
which he states that in a conversation with Colonel McDonald at Be- 
lize, the latter had informed him he had discovered and sent docu- 
ments to England, which caused the British government to revive 
their claim to the Mosquito territory. 

According to Bonnycastle, the Mosquito shore " lies along part of 
the northern and eastern shore of Honduras," and, by the map which 
accompanies his work, extends no further south than the mouth of 
the river Segovia, in about 12° north latitude. This respectable au- 
thor certainly never could have imagined that it extended south of 
San Juan de Nicaragua, because he describes this as the principal 
seaport of Nicaragua on the Caribbean sea; says tnere are "three 
portages" between the lake and the mouth of the river, and "these 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 25 

carrying-places are defended, and at one of them is the fort, San Juan, 
(called also the castle of Nuestra Sehora,) on a rock, and very strong ; 
it has thirty-six guns mounted, with a small battery, whose platform 
is level with the water ; and the whole is enclosed on the land side by 
a ditch and rampart. Its garrison is generally kept up at a hundred 
infantry, sixteen artillerymen, with about sixty of the militia, and 
is provided with batteaux, which row guard every night up and down 
the stream." • 

Thus it appears that the Spaniards were justly sensible of the im- 
portance of defending this outlet from the lake of Nicaragua to the 
ocean, because, as Captain Bonny castle observes: "This port (San 
Juan) is looked upon as the key of the Americas ; and with the pos- 
session of it and Eealejo on the other side of the lake, the Spanish 
colonies might be paralyzed, by the enemy being then master of the 
ports of both oceans." He might have added, that nearly sixty years 
ago, on the 26th February, 1796, the port of San Juan de Nicaragua 
was established as a port of entry of the second class by the king of 
Spain. 

Captain Bonnycastle, as well as the Spaniards, would have been 
greatly surprised had they been informed that this port was a part of 
the dominions of his majesty the king of the Mosquitos, and that the 
cities and cultivated territories of Nicaragua surrounding the lakes 
Nicaragua and Maaagua had no outlet to the Caribbean sea, ex- 
cept by his gracious permission. It was therefore with profound sur- 
prise and regret the government and people of the United States 
learned that a British force, on the 1st of January, 1848, had expelled 
the State of Nicaragua from San Juan, had hauled down the Nicara- 
guan flag, and had raised the Mosquito flag in its place. The ancient 
name of the town, San Juan de Nicaragua, which had identified it in 
all former time as belonging to Nicaragua, was on this occasion 
changed, and thereafter it became G-reytown. 

These proceedings gave birth to serious apprehensions throughout 
the United States, that Great Britain intended to monopolize for her- 
self the control over the different routes between the Atlantic and 
the Pacific, which, since the acquisition of California, had become of 
vital importance to the United States. Under this impression, it was 
impossible that the American government could any longer remain 
silent and acquiescing spectators of what was passing in Central 
America. 

Mr. Monroe, one of our wisest and mos.t discreet Presidents, an- 
nounced in a public message to Congress, in December, 1823, that 
"the American continents, by the free and independent condition 
which they have assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be 
considered subjects for future colonization by any European powers." 

This declaration has since been known throughout the world as the 
" Monroe doctrine," and has received the public and official sanction 
of subsequent Presidents, as well as of a very large majority of the 
American people. 

Whilst this doctrine will be maintained, whenever in the opinion of 
Congress the peace and safety of the United States shall render this 
necessary, yet, to have acted upon it in Central America might have 



26 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

brought us into collision with Great Britain — an event always to be 
deprecated, and, if possible, avoided. 

We can do each other the most good and the most harm of any two 
nations in the world ; and therefore it is our strong mutual interest, 
as it ought to be our strong mutual desire, to remain the best friends. 
To settle these dangerous questions, both parties wisely resorted to 
friendly negotiations, which resulted in the convention of April, 1850. 
May this prove to be instrumental in finally adjusting all questions of 
difficulty between the parties in Central America, and in perpetuating 
their peace and friendship ! 

Surely, the Mosquito Indians ought not to prove an obstacle to so 
happy a consummation. Even if these savages had never been actually 
subdued by Spain, this would give them no title to rank as an inde- 
pendent state, without violating the principle and the practice of every 
European nation, without exception, which has acquired territory on 
the continent of America. They all mutually recognised the right of 
discovery, as well as the title of the discoverer, to a large extent of in- 
terior territory, though at the moment occupied by fierce and hostile 
tribes of Indians. 

On this principle the wars, the negotiations, the cessions, and the 
jurisprudence of these nations were founded. The ultimate dominion 
and absolute title belonged to themselves, although several of them, 
and especially Great Britain, conceded to the Indians a right of mere 
occupancy, which, however, could only be extinguished by the authority 
of the nation within whose dominions these Indians were found. All 
sales or transfers of territory made by them to third parties were de- 
clared to be absolutely void ; and this was a merciful rule even for the 
Indians themselves, because it prevented them from being defrauded 
by dishonest individuals. 

No nation has ever acted more steadily upon these principles than 
Great Britain, and she has solemnly recognised them in her treaties 
with the King of Spain of 1*783 and 1786, by admitting his sovereignty 
over the Mosquitos. 

Shall the Mosquito tribe of Indians constitute an exception from this 
hitherto universal rule ? Is there anything in their character or in 
their civilization which would enable them to perform the duties and 
sustain the responsibilities of a sovereign State in the family of nations ? 

Bonny castle says of them that they "were formerly a very powerful 
and numerous race of people, but the ravages of rum and the small- 
pox have diminished their numbers very much. ' ' He represents them, 
on the authority of British settlers, as seeming "to have no other re- 
ligion than the adoration of evil spirits." 

The same author also states that "the warriors of this tribe are 
accounted at fifteen hundred." This possibly may have been correct 
in 1818, when the book was published, but at present serious doubts 
are entertained whether they reach much more than half that number. 

The truth is, they are now a debased race, and are degraded even 
below the common Indian standard. They have acquired the worst 
vices of civilization from their intercourse with the basest class of the 
whites, without any of its redeeming virtues. The Mosquitos have 
been thus represented by a writer of authority who has recently enjoyed 



! 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 27 

the best opportunities for personal observation. That they are totally 
incapable of maintaining an independent civilized government is be- 
yond all question. Then, in regard to their so-called king, Lord Pal- 
merston, in speaking of him to Mr. Rives, in September, 1851, says : 
" They had what was called a king, who, by the bye," he added in a 
tone of pleasantry, "was as much a king as I or you." And Lord John 
Russell, in his despatch to. Mr. Crampton of the 19th January, 1853, 
denominates the Mosquito government as "a fiction," and speaks of 
the king as a person "whose title and power are, in truth, little better 
than nominal," 

The moment Great Britain shall withdraw from Bluefields, where 
she now exercises exclusive dominion over the Musquito shore, the 
former relations of the Mosquitos to Nicaragua and Honduras, as the 
successors of Spain, will naturally be restored. When this event shall 
occur, it is to be hoped that these States, in their conduct towards the 
Mosquitos and the other Indian tribes within their territories, will fol- 
low the example of Great Britain and the United States. Whilst 
neither of these has ever acknowledged, or permitted any other nation 
to acknowledge, any Indian tribe within their limits as an independent 
people, they have both recognised the qualified right of such tribes to 
occupy the soil, and, as the advance of the white settlements rendered 
this necessary, have acquired their title by a fair purchase. 

Certainly it cannot be desired that this extensive and valuable Cen- 
tral American coast, on the highway of nations between the Atlantic 
and the Pacific, should be appropriated to the use of three or four 
thousand wandering Indians as an independent state, who would use 
it for no other purpose than that of hunting and fishing and savage 
warfare. If such an event were possible, the coast would become a 
retreat for pirates and outlaws of every nation, from whence to infest 
and disturb the commerce of the world in its transit across the isthmus. 
And but little better would be its condition should a new independent 
state be established on the Mosquito shore. Besides, in either event, 
the Central American states would deeply feel the injustice which had 
been done them in depriving them of a portion of their territories. 
They would never cease in attempts to recover their rights, and thus 
strife and contention would be perpetuated in that quarter of the world 
where it is so much the interest, both of Great Britain and the United 
States, that all territorial questions shall be speedily, satisfactorily, 
and finally adjusted. 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

London, January 6, 1854. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] 

[No. 31.] Legation op the United States, 

London, May 5, 1854. 

Sir : Late on Tuesday evening last, I received the long promised 
and long delayed statement of Lord Clarendon on the Central Ameri- 



28 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

can questions, dated on the 2d instant, a copy of which I have now the 
honor to transmit. Accompanying this statement, I also received a 
private note from his lordship, apologizing "for the further delay 
that has taken place, owing to the Easter holidays, and the necessity 
of consulting some of my [his] colleagues who were out of town." 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. W. L. Maecy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr, Lawrence to Lord Palmerstori. 

United States Legation, 

November 8, 1849. 

My dear Lord : As I told you in our conversation this morning, I 
have "been instructed by the President to inquire whether the British 
government intends to occupy or colonize Nicaragua, Costa Kica, the 
Mosquito coast, (so called,) or any part of Central America. I have 
also been instructed to inquire whether the British government will 
unite with the United States in guaranteeing the neutrality of a ship- 
canal, railway, or other communication, to be open to the world and _ 
common to all nations. May I beg the favor of an answer to these I 
inquiries, and to express the wish that I may receive it before two ' 
o'clock to-morrow, so as to send it out by this week's packet ? 

I am aware that Nicaragua is in dispute with Costa Bica, on the one 
hand, about her boundary, and with the Mosquitos, on the other, 
about their sovereignty. I have no purpose now to enter upon those 
questions. I only desire to know the views of her majesty's govern- 
ment on the questions I have proposed. At the same time I cannot 
but think that G-reat Britain and the United States can heal these 
breaches by kind offices, and that the Indians can be provided for in a 
manner satisfactory to Nicaragua and Great Britain, and far better 
for them than the equivocal position they now occupy. 

I need not assure your lordship that the United States have no ul- 
terior purposes in view. They frankly disclaim all intention of ob- 
taining territory in Central America, and I have no doubt would be 
willing to mutually agree with Great Britain neither to settle, annex, 
colonize, nor fortiiy that country. 
I am, &c. , 

ABBOTT LAWRENCE. 

Viscount Palmerston, dc. 



\ 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 2.9 



Lord Palmerston to Mr. Lawrence. 

Foreign Oeeice, November 13, 1849. 

My dear Sir: I have received your letter of the 8th, written in 
accordance with what passed in our conversation in the morning of 
that day, and I hasten to reply to your inquiries. 

With regard to the first part of your inquiry, I heg to say that her 
majesty's government do not intend to occupy or colonize Nicaragua, 
Costa Rica, the Mosquito coast, or any part of Central America. 

With regard to Mosquito, however, a close political connexion has 
existed between the crown of Great Britain and the State and terri- 
tory of Mosquito for a period of about two centuries, but the British 
government does not claim dominion in Mosquito. 

With regard to the second part of your inquiry, I beg to say that 
her majesty's government will feel great pleasure in combining and 
co-operating with the government of the United States, for the pur- 
pose of assisting the operations of any company which may be formed 
with a view to establish a commercial communication, by canal or 
railway, between the Atlantic and Pacific, across the isthmus which 
divides the northern and southern portion of the American continent, 
both by obtaining local security for the works while in progress, and 
when completed and in use, and by placing such communication, 
through the means of political arrangements, beyond the reach of 
molestation, disturbance, or obstruction by reason of international 
disputes which may at any time unfortunately arise, upon the condi- 
tion, moreover, that such communication should at all times be open 
and accessible for the commerce of all nations, upon equal terms for 
all. Her majesty's government would feel that the union of two 
great powers for the accomplishment of an object of such general 
utility, and tending so much to assist the diffusion of civilization and 
to strengthen the foundations of international peace, would be as 
honorable to the powers concerned in such an arrangement as the 
result would be advantageous to the commercial interests of the world 
at large. 

With regard to the port of Greytown, at the mouth of the river St. 
John, her majesty's government would fully undertake to obtain the 
consent of Mosquito to such arrangements as would render that port 
entirely applicable, and on the principles above mentioned, to the pur- 
poses of such a sea-to-sea communication. 

You advert in your letter to the differences which have arisen be- 
tween the republics of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, in regard to boun- 
daries and to some other matters,' and you suggest that the joint influ- 
ence of Great Britain and the United States should be employed to 
heal, by their good offices, the Breaches which have interrupted the 
friendly relations of those two contiguous States. Her majesty's gov- 
ernment would, upon every account, be glad to join with the United 
Slates in effecting such a reconciliation, and the more so because the 
cordial co-operation of both of those republics would be essential for the 
satisfactory completion of the contemplated undertaking. 

I have only further to say that her majesty's government have re- 



30 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

ceived with, great satisfaction your assurance that the United States 
have no ulterior purposes in view in regard to these matters ; that 
they frankly disclaim all intention of obtaining territory in Central 
America, and that you have no doubt that they would be willing to 
enter into a mutual agreement with Great Britain, neither to settle, 
annex, colonize, nor fortify that county ; and I can with equal frank- 
ness assure you, that into such a mutual agreement her majesty's 
government would be equally ready to enter. 

I am, &c.j &c. 

PALMEESTON. 

Abbott Lawrence, Esq., dc, dec, dhc. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[Extracts.] 

[No. 42.] Department of State, 

Washington, June 12, 1854. 

Sir: The perusal of Lord Clarendon's reply to your statement in 
regard to Central American affairs does not encourage hopes of a 
speedy adjustment of them. * * * * 



I still indulge the hope, that by the array of facts and arguments 
bearing on the questions in difference in regard to Central American 
affairs, the government of Great Britain will be induced to abandon 
the main positions assumed by Lord Clarendon in his statement of the 
2d ultimo. 

This government can never yield to the pretension that the treaty 
of the 19th of April, 1850, was only prospective in its operation, and 
that Great Britain retained the right to hold on to all she then had 
or now claims to have had in Central .America. It was certainly our 
expectation that she came under obligations to the United States, by 
that instrument, to withdraw from interference in Central American 
affairs, and this expectation is sustained by the language of the treaty. 
There is room for a fair difference of opinion as to the position she 
should in future occupy in regard to Belize or British Honduras. It 
was not the object of the President, as you will perceive by your 
general instructions, to direct you to insist that by the Clayton 
and Bulwer treaty she was bound to abandon the possession of the 
Belize. She had a right to occupy for a specific purpose a small 
district of country on the shore of the Bay of Honduras, but had 
no sovereignty over it. The character of this right, and the extent 
of territory to which it applied, are both clearly defined in her treaty 
with Spain of 1*786. If this territory could be fairly considered within 
the limits of Central America, then the British possession of it was 
affected by the treaty, and this government might consequently claim 
the abandonment of the British occupation and dominion over it. 
The assertion of the claim upon Great Britain to abandon Belize as a 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 31 

territory included in the treaty is embarrassed by two considerations : 
first, by the notes which passed between the negotiators of the treaty 
at the time of exchanging ratifications; and, second, by the doubt 
as to its geographical position being within the limits of Central 
America. 

Discovering on the part of the British government a disposition to 
escape from what are here regarded as the obvious stipulations of the 
treaty, the President would have you avoid embarrassing the negotia- 
tion by urging so questionable a matter as a right derived from the 
treaty for the surrender of Belize. He does not, therefore, instruct you 
to insist upon applying the stipulations of the treaty to that territory; 
but you wilt resist the British pretensiftn to extend it to any part of 
Central America, or beyond the limits fixed to it in the Spanish treaty 
of 1*786. You will also resist the British pretension to regard that 
territory as one of her colonies. She acquired no sovereign right in 
Belize under her treaties with Spain. Her treaty with Mexico, in 
1826, only continued the limited right she had from Spain, and the 
very fact of treating with Mexico for the continuation of her usufruct 
of Belize was a clear acknowledgment that the sovereignty over it 
was in Mexico at that time. 

While you will abstain from claiming the surrender of the posses- 
sion of Belize under the Clayton and Bulwer treaty, you will resist 
the pretension of Great Britain to regard it as a colonial possession 
with sovereign rights, or to extend it beyond the limits designated in 
the original grant — the Spanish treaties of 1783 and 1786. 

In a commercial point of view, the possession of Belize can now be of 
very little value to Great Britain ; and, politically considered, it must 
be an incumbrance, unless she has undisclosed objects in view. Her 
persistence in claiming a right to it would indicate on her part a policy 
of retaining in her hands the means of annoying this country, and of 
interrupting its intercourse with its possessions on the Pacific. , If it 
is her sincere desire to maintain peaceful relations with the United 
States, she would be ready for the accomplishment of such an import- 
ant object to retire from so useless a possession. 

An attempt on the part of Great Britain to extend Belize so as to 
include any part of Central America will be repudiating an express 
stipulation of the treaty of the 19th of April, 1850. 

I cannot believe that the British government intends to hold the 
position that the Bay islands are an appendage to Belize. Should 
this be so, and she pertinaciously maintains it, there will be very little 
hope left for the success of your negotiation in regard to Central 
America. You have command of facts enough to drive her from this 
position, unless there is a determination to hold it against the clearest 
evidence and the strongest arguments. 

Euatan can only be desirable to Great Britain as a naval and mili- 
tary station, and for that purpose only as it would give her great 
facility in affecting injuriously our interests. Should she refuse to 
acknowledge it as a part of the State of Honduras, and retain posses- 
sion of it for herself, the United States would clearly understand her 
object. A predetermination to interfere with our affairs thus mani- 






32 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



fested will render the continuance of our amicable relations with her 
precarious. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MAKCT. 

James Buchanan, Esq., &c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[No. 39.] Legation of the United States, 

London, July 25, 1854. 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit to you a copy of my " remarks 
in reply to Lord Clarendon's statement of May 2, 1854," the original 
having been sent to his lordship on the 22d instant. 

I regret their length, but I found it impossible, such were the num- 
ber of topics introduced in the British statement, to render them shorter. 
I trust they may meet the approbation of the President and yourself. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Hon. Wm. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] • 

[No. 61.] Legation of the United States, 

London, February 16, 1855. 

Sir : Since the ministerial crisis all public business has been sus- 
pended in this country, except such as relates to the existing war 
with Bussia. From a conversation which I casually had with Lord 
Aberdeen on the day before the vote against his ministry in the House 
of Commons, I was confirmed in the belief that the Central American 
questions would have been settled had he remained in power a few 
weeks longer. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. Wm. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan, 

[No. 104.] Department of State, 

Washington, August 6, 1855, 
Sir : The President is anxious to have the questions which have 
been raised on the treaty between the United States and Great Britain 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 33 

of the 19th of April, 1850, settled, if possible, or, at least, brought 
to a distinct issue, before you retire from your mission. The nego- 
tiation cannot be committed to any one who so well understands the 
subject in all its bearings as you do, or who can so ably sustain and 
carry out the views of the United States, 

The President has been unwilling to manifest impatience at the 
•delay which has attended this negotiation while her Majesty's gov- 
ernment was engrossed by the war with Kussia, but he deems it to 
be but reasonable that it should now be urged to a conclusion. It is 
important that the United States should know the positions Great 
Britain is determined to maintain relative to the Central American 
questions. 

I need not express to you the surprise the President felt on learn- 
ing the views of her Majesty's government, as presented 'to you in 
Lord Clarendon's statement of the 2d of May, 1854, in regard to 
Ruatan and the other islands constituting what may now be looked 
upon as the British colony of the Bay islands. These views are con- 
sidered by this government as not only contrary to the spirit, but 
directly at variance with the clear language of the convention of 
1850. 

After the very cogent argument contained in your able reply to 
that statement, the President is unwilling to believe that the po- 
sitions, rather indicated than maintained, by Lord Clarendon, rela- 
tive to Ruatan, will be adhered to. If a stipulation, so explicit in 
terms and so clearly applicable to the Bay islands, is to be nullified 
by interpretation, every other provision in that instrument, so far as 
it imposes obligations upon Great Britain, may, in the same way, and 
with equal plausibility, be defeated. 

Should Great Britain refuse to withdraw from Ruatan and the other 
islands on the coast of the State of Honduras, her determination, 
in that respect, could not but be regarded by the President as a non- 
compliance with the stipulations of the treaty of 1850. The fact that 
these islands are a part of Central America is so unquestionable, and 
the stipulations of the convention are so directly applicable to them, 
that there seems to be no room for raising a question of interpretation. 

After what was said to you by Lord Aberdeen, when at the head of 
the British government, it is to be hoped that the British pretension 
to hold Ruatan will be abandoned. If Great Britain still persists in 
holding these islands and in maintaining a colony there, her determi- 
nation to that effect should be distinctly announced, so that this gov- 
ernment may no longer be left in doubt as to her intentions. On this 
point you are instructed to ask of her Majesty's government an explicit 
declaration. 

The main inducement which this government had, as you have well 
observed, for entering into this treaty, was to prevent Great Britain 
from acquiring or exercising dominion in Central America ; but this 
object is entirely defeated by the interpretation which the British gov- 
ernment proposes to give to that instrument. While the United 
States are excluded from occupying, colonizing, or exercising ^ any 
dominion over any part of Central America, it cannot be admitted 
that the same restriction is not imposed on Great Britain. 
3a 






34 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

You are, therefore, directed to declare explicitly to her Majesty's 
government, that the President, after a full consideration of what is 
alleged in Lord Clarendon's statement of the 2d of May, 1854, cannot 
entertain a doubt but that Great Britain is solemnly bound by the first 
article of the convention of 1850 not to occupy, or fortify, or colonize, 
or assume or exercise any dominion over Euatan, or any of the islands 
on the coast of the State of Honduras, known or described as the Bay 
islands, and that he expects she will, in fulfilment of the stipulations 
of that treaty, abandon the possession she now holds of this part of 
Central America. 

It would be superfluous to enlarge upon the views you have taken 
of the British protectorate over the Mosquito Indians. The ground- 
lessness of the British pretensions to exercise control or dominion in 
Central American affairs, under the shadow of this protectorate, is so 
clearly demonstrated in your remarks, in reply to Lord Clarendon's 
statement, as to supersede further discussion on the subject. What 
effect these remarks have produced on the British government is not 
yet known. If they have received the consideration due to them, I 
am sure they will open the way to the peaceful adjustment of these 
embarrassing Central American questions. 

It is not strange that Lord Clarendon should manifest some reluc- 
tance to have the foundation of the British protectorate over the Mos- 
quitos explored ; but the rights claimed under it seem necessarily to 
have called for the examination which you have given to the subject. 
The result of that examination shows that the Mosquito kingdom, as 
a political state, is, in any view of it, what Lord Palmerston acknow- 
ledged it to be — a mere fiction. Upon this admitted fiction, Great 
Britain now attempts to establish a substantial sovereign power over 
an extensive region in Central America, and, when required by the 
United States to withdraw from the exercise of this power, in compli- 
ance with the stipulations of the convention of 1850, she endeavors to 
escape from her obligation to do so, by designating the dominion she 
exercises as a protectorate. 

A protectorate necessarily implies the actual existence of a sovereign 
authority, in the protected power ; but where there is, in fact, no such 
authority, there can be no protectorate. The Mosquitos are a conve- 
nience to sustain British pretensions, but cannot be regarded as a 
sovereign state. Lord Palmerston, as was evinced by his remark to 
Mr. Kives, took this view of the political condition of the Mosquitos ; 
and it is so obviously correct, that the British government should not 
be surprised if the United States consider the subject in the same 
light. 

It was the confident belief of the United States that this fiction of 
a Mosquito kingdom had been disposed of by the convention, but very 
much to their surprise it is now resorted to as the basis of a British 
dominion over an extensive region of Central America. 

Admitting that the convention did not require the absolute renun- 
ciation of the Mosquito protectorate, it imposed, as is admitted, re- 
strictions upon it. After the conclusion of that treaty, it could not be 
used for the purpose of occupying, fortifying, or colonizing any part 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 35 

of Central America,, or for the purpose of assuming or exercising do- 
minion over the same. 

Great Britain will not, I think, contend that it has heen thus prac- 
tically restricted since the ratification of the convention of 1850. 
There is no visible power, civil or military, in the Mosquito territory, 
but that which is exercised by British subjects. 

It is understood, and, indeed, asserted by the British government, 
that the protectorate is only used for the security of the rights of the 
Mosquito Indians, and that it is ready to abstain from further inter- 
ference in that country whenever these rights can be in a proper man- 
ner guarantied to those Indians. 

This is a question between the State of Nicaragua and those Indians, 
with which neither Great Britain nor the United States has any busi- 
ness to interfere, except in friendly conference with Nicaragua. 

Were this the only difficulty in carrying out the convention of 1850, 
as it is understood by the United States, I should entertain but little 
doubt that a satisfactory adjustment might be made of the Central 
American questions. I apprehend, however, that there will be more 
difficulty in inducing Great Britain to comply with the stipulations of 
the treaty by surrendering the territory encroached on by her subjects, 
between the Sibun and Sarstoon rivers. Her claim to hold possession 
of this part of Central America is as groundless as her pretensions to 
the Bay islands. 

It is difficult to conceive how the argument which you have submit- 
ted to her Majesty's government against this claim can be refuted. 
Great Britain cannot hold this territory without assuming or exercis- 
ing dominion over a part of Central America ; and this she has, in 
the most explicit manner, and in the strongest terms, covenanted not 
to do. 

If she can succeed in her attempt to convert her license to cut log- 
wood at the Belize, within the limits specified by her treaties with 
Spain of 1783 and 1786, into a sovereign right over that territory, 
and extend it so as to cover the region between the Sibun and Sarstoon, 
she will in that way entirely destroy the mutuality of the convention 
of 1850. It was the manifest intention of that instrument to exclude 
both of the contracting parties from holding, as well as from acquir- 
ing, territorial possessions in Central America. This intention was 
not clothed in ambiguous language, but was set forth in explicit terms. 
The United States have bound themselves not to acquire any such pos- 
sessions, and Great Britain has stipulated not to assume or exercise 
any dominion over any part of Central America. This covenant is 
in nowise restricted by the explanatory note of the negotiators of the 
4th of July, 1850. 

The United States have a right to insist, and do insist, that the pos- 
session of the British government at the Belize shall be restricted to 
the limits and objects specified in the Spanish grant, and that all be- 
yond those limits,falling within Central America, shall be relinquished. 
You are instructed by the President to urge upon her Britannic Ma- 
jesty's government this view, and to claim a compliance with it as de- 
manded by the stipulations of the convention of 1850.' 



36 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

The British government having been furnished with the views 
entertained by the President in regard to the obligations imposed by 
that convention, he expects it will be equally explicit on its part. 

He does not doubt that the interest of the two countries, and the 
mutual desire to maintain existing amicable relations, will alike 
inspire each party with a conciliatory spirit, which will enable them 
to overcome all obstacles to a satisfactory adjustment. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MARCY. 

James Buchanan, Esq., dtc, dtc, &c. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[No. 89.] Legation of the United States, 

London, September 11, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor of transmitting to you the copy of a note 
which I this day addressed to Lord Clarendon on the Central Ameri- 
can questions, in obedience to your instructions of the 6th ultimo, 
(No. 104.) I shall, of course, be anxious to learn whether it has 
received the President's approbation. It has been prepared with much 
care, my purpose having been to employ conciliatory language, so far 
as this might be done consistently with the President's instructions 
and the attainment of the objects which he had in view. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Hon. Wi LLIAM L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Buchanan to Lord Clarendon. 

Legation of the United States, 

London, September 11, 1855. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the United States, has been instructed by the President again to 
call the attention of the Earl of Clarendon, her Majesty's principal 
secretary of state for foreign affairs, to the Central American ques- 
tions pending between the two governments, under the convention of 
the 19th April, 1850. 

The President has directed the undersigned, before retiring from 
his mission, to request from the British government a statement of 
the positions which it has determined to maintain in regard to the 
Bay islands, the territory between the Sibun and the Sarstoon, as 
well as the Belize settlement, and to the Mosquito protectorate. The 
long delay in asking for this information has proceeded from the 
President's reluctance to manifest any impatience on this important 
subject whilst the attention of her Majesty's government was engross- 
ed by the war with Russia. But as more than a year has already 
elapsed since the termination of the discussion on these questions, and 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. . 37 

as the first session of a new Congress is rapidly approaching, the 
President does not feel that he would be justified in any longer delay. 

Whilst it is far from the purpose of the undersigned to reopen the 
general discussion, he has been instructed to communicate to the 
Earl of Clarendon the conclusions at which the President has arrived 
upon the whole case. 

After having carefully reviewed and reconsidered all the questions 
involved, with the light cast upon them by the Earl of Clarendon's 
statement of the 2d May, 1854, the President has expressed his un- 
willingness to believe that the positions, which he conceives to be 
rather indicated therein than finally adopted, will be adhered to by 
the British government. 

It was, in his opinion, the manifest intention of the convention to 
exclude both the contracting parties from holding or occupying, as 
well as from acquiring territorial possessions in Central America; and 
that this intention is not clothed in ambiguous language, but is set 
forth in explicit terms. The United States have bound themselves 
not to acquire any such possessions, and Great Britain has stipulated 
not to "■ assume or exercise any dominion over any part of Central 
America." Indeed, without such a reciprocal engagement, no mutu- 
ality whatever would have existed between the covenants of the con- 
tracting parties. Whilst the United States are excluded from occu- 
pying, colonizing, or exercising dominion over any part of Central 
America_, it cannot be admitted that the same restriction, imposed in 
the very same language, is not equally applicable to Great Britain. 

The President, therefore, confidently believes that Great Britain 
is bound by the first article of the convention of 1850 to withdraw 
from the possession she now holds of Kuatan and the other Central 
American islands on the coast of the State of Honduras, as well as 
from the territory in Central America between the Sibun and the 
Sarstoon, which has been encroached upon by her Majesty's subjects. 
He is also of opinion that the possession of the British government at 
the Belize should be restricted to the limits and objects specified in 
the treaties between Great Britain and^ Spain of 1783 and 1786. 

In regard to the alleged protectorate over the so-called Mosquito 
kingdom, the President has instructed the undersigned to say it was 
his confident belief that this protectorate had been finally disposed of 
by the convention. It is therefore much to his regret that he finds it 
is still continued as the basis of British dominion over an extensive 
region in Central America. 

Even although Great Britain admits that the convention has im- 
posed restrictions on the protectorate claimed, yet she still continues 
to exercise the same dominion over the Mosquito coast which she had 
done before its date. Indeed, at the present moment, no visible 
power, civil or military, exists in the Mosquito territory, except that 
which is exercised by British subjects, notwithstanding the convention 
expressly prohibits both parties from using any protection which 
either may afford to any state or people, for the purpose of occupying, 
fortifying, or colonizing, the Mosquito coast, or any part of Central 
America, or for the purpose of assuming or exercising dominion over 
the same. 



38 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

The declaration of the British government, that this protectorate is 
only employed for the security of the rights of the Mosquito Indians, 
and that it is ready to abstain from further interference in that coun- 
try whenever these rights can, in a proper manner, be guarantied to 
them, cannot be recognised by the United States as having any found- 
ation in the convention. The President considers this to be a ques- 
tion between Nicaragua and the Indians within its territory, with 
which neither Great Britain nor the United States has any right to 
interfere, except in friendly conference with the authorities of that 
State. 

Having thus distinctly presented to the British government the 
views of the government of the United States in regard to the obli- 
gations imposed by the convention of 1850, the President feels assured 
that the Earl of" Clarendon will, with characteristic frankness, be 
equally explicit in presenting the views of the British government in 
regard to these obligations. 

In conclusion, the undersigned is instructed to state that the Presi- 
dent does, not doubt that the interest of the two countries, and their 
mutual desire to maintain existing friendly relations, will alike inspire 
each party with a conciliatory spirit, and enable them to overcome all 
obstacles to a satisfactory adjustment of the Central American ques- 
tions. 

The undersigned has the honor to renew to the Earl of Clarendon 
the assurance of his distinguished consideration. 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Eight Hon, the Earl op Clarendon, &c, c&c, <&c. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 
[Extract.] 

[No. 95.] Legation of the United States, 

London, October 4, 1855. 
Sir : I have now the honor of transmitting to you a copy of the 
note of Lord Clarendon of the 28th, received by me on the 29th 
ultimo, in answer to my note of the 11th ultimo, on the Central 
American questions, as well as a copy of my reply dated on the 
4th instant. Lord Clarendon's note is of such a character as might 
have been anticipated after the conversation between his lordship 
and myself on the 5th April last, reported in my despatch (No. 
66) of the 7th of that month. This note has been received so much 
sooner than I had anticipated, that if I were now in possession of 
my letter of recall, I might return home on the 6th of October, 
as I had originally determined. It is impossible, however, that 
I should leave before this letter shall arrive, and it is certainly 
proper, under all the circumstances, that I should remain here no 
longer than may be necessary. If, therefore, it shall not have been 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 39 

forwarded "before the arrival of this despatch, I trust it may be sent 
by the next succeeding steamer. 

* sje ' . * * * * * * 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Foreign Office, September 28, 1855. 

The undersigned, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for 
foreign affairs, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note 
which Mr. Buchanan, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary of the United States, addressed to him on the 11th instant, 
stating that he had been directed by the President, before retiring 
from his mission, to request from the British government a statement 
of the positions which it has determined to maintain, in regard to the 
Bay islands, to the territory between the Sibun and the Sarstoon, as 
well as the Belize settlement, and to the Mosquito protectorate, and. 
setting forth the conclusions at which the President has arrived upon 
the whole case — namely, that it was the intention of the convention of 
the 19th of April, 1850, to exclude both the contracting parties from 
holding or occupying, as well as from acquiring, territorial possessions 
in Central America ; and that, consequently, Great Britain is bound 
to withdraw from the possession she now holds of Ruatan and other 
Central American islands on the coast of the State of Honduras, as 
well as from the territory in Central America between the Sibun and 
the Sarstoon ; that the possession of the British government at Belize 
should be restricted to the limits and objects specified in the treaties 
between Great Britain and Spain of 1783 and 1786 ; and that the pro- 
tectorate of the so-called Mosquito kingdom was finally disposed of by 
the convention. 

The undersigned observes with satisfaction that, while thus express- 
ing the opinion of the President of the United States on the several 
points thus enumerated, Mr. Buchanan announces that it is far from 
his purpose to re-open the general discussion upon them. Her 
Majesty's government had, indeed, refrained from pursuing that dis- 
cussion by replying to Mr. Buchanan's note of the 22d of July, 1854, 
because it appeared to them that the continuation of the correspond- 
ence was not likely to lead to any satisfactory conclusion ; and, as 
her Majesty's government are still of that opinion, the undersigned 
will confine his answer to Mr. Buchanan's present note within the 
same limits as those which Mr. Buchanan has prescribed to himself. 

In answer, therefore, to the questions put by Mr. Buchanan, the 
undersigned has the honor to state to him, that her Majesty's govern- 
ment adhere to the opinion which they have uniformly held, that the 
convention of April 19, 1850, was merely prospective in its operation, 
and did not in any way interfere with the state of things existing at 
the time of its conclusion. If it had been intended to do so, there 



40 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

can be no question "but that, in conformity with what the undersigned 
believes to be the universal rule in regard to instruments of this 
nature, it would have contained, in specific terms, a reDunciation, on 
the part of Great Britain, of the possessions and rights which, up to 
the conclusion of the convention, she had claimed to maintain, and 
such renunciation would not have been left as a mere matter of in- 
ference. 

Neither can her Majesty's government subscribe to the position 
that, if the convention did not bear the meaning attached to it by the 
United States, it would have imposed upon the government of the 
United States a self-denying obligation which was not equally con- 
tracted by Great Britain, and that such a state of things could not 
have been in the intention of the contracting parties; because, if the 
convention did bear the meaning attached to it by the United States, 
it would then have imposed upon Great Britain the obligation to re- 
nounce possessions and rights without any equivalent renunciation on 
the part of the United States, If the government of the United 
States can complain, in the one case, of the convention as presenting 
a unilateral character unfavorable to the United States, with much 
greater reason might the government of Great Britain, in the other 
case, if the assumption of the United States were to be acted upon in 
the construction of the convention, complain of it as prejudicial to 
England. 

But looking to the object which the contracting parties had in view 
at the conclusion of the convention — namely, the security of the pro- 
posed ship-canal — the British government consider that the design of 
the contracting parties was not to disturb any state of things then 
existing, but to guard against the future creation of a state of things 
which might by possibility interfere with the security of the proposed 
canal. That such was the true design of the convention, is obvious 
from the provision in the sixth article, by which the contracting par- 
ties engaged to invite every State to enter into stipulations with them 
similar to those contained in the convention. But if the position of 
the United States government were sound, and the convention was 
intended to interfere with the state of thiogs existing at the time of 
its conclusion, and to impose upon Great Britain to withdraw from 
portions of territory occupied by it, a similar obligation would be con- 
tracted by other states acceding to the convention, and the govern- 
ments of the Central American States would, by the mere act of acces- 
sion, sign away their rights to the territories in which they are 
situated. 

The British government share the conviction of the President of the 
United States, that the interest of the two countries, and their mutual 
desire to maintain existing friendly relations, will alike inspire each 
party with a conciliatory spirit, and enable them to overcome all ob- 
stacles to a satisfactory adjustment of Central American questions. 
The British government see no reason why it should be otherwise. 
The British government neither have the wish to extend the limits of 
their possessions or the sphere of their influence in that quarter, nor 
would any British interest be promoted by doing so ; but the British 
government are not prepared to contract either the one or the other ? 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 41 

in pursuance of the interpretation of a convention, to which interpre- 
tation they cannot subscribe. 

The undersigned requests Mr. Buchanan to accept the assurance of 
his highest consideration. 

CLARBttDOK 

Hon. James Buchanan, &c, &c. } &c. 



Legation of the United States, 

October 4, 1855. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the United States, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the 
note of the Earl of Clarendon, her Majesty's principal secretary of 
state for foreign affairs, dated on the 28th ultimo, in reply to the note 
of the undersigned of the 11th ultimo, in reference to the Central 
American questions between the two governments ; and he will not 
fail to transmit a copy of the same, by the next steamer, to the Sec- 
retary of State at Washington. 

Whilst far from intending to renew the general discussion of these 
questions, which has already been exhausted, the undersigned, in 
passing, would make a single observation in regard to the Earl of 
Clarendon's remark, that if the convention of the 19th April, 1850, 
had intended that Great Britain should withdraw from her possessions 
in Central America, "it would have contained, in specific terms, a 
renunciation" to that effect ; " and such renunciation would not have 
been left as a mere matter of inference." 

Now, it appears to the undersigned that an engagement by a party 
not " to occupy," u, or exercise any dominion" over territory of which 
that party is in actual possession at the date of the engagement, is 
equivalent in all respects to an agreement to withdraw from such ter- 
ritory. Under these circumstances, this is not " a mere matter of in- 
ference ;" because the one proposition is necessarily and inseparably 
involved in the other, and they are merely alternative modes of ex- 
pressing the same idea. In such a case, to withdraw is not to occupy ; 
and not to occupy is necessarily to withdraw. 

The undersigned needs no apology for briefly adverting to another 
argument of the Earl of Clarendon, because it has now for the first 
time been advanced. He states, that '.' if the position of the United 
States government were sound, and the convention was intended to 
interfere with the state of things existing at the time of its conclu- 
sion, and to impose upon Great Britain to withdraw from portions of 
territory occupied by it, a similar obligation would be contracted by 
other states acceding to the convention, [under the 6th article,] and 
the governments of the Central American States would, by the mere 
act of accession, sign away their rights to the territories in which they 
are situated." 

Confining himself strictly to this single view of the subject, the 
undersigned would observe, that notwithstanding the general terms 
employed by the convention, an examination of its provisions, and 
especially of the sixth article itself, will prove it never intended that 



42 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

the Central American States should become joint parties to this treaty 
with the United States, Grreat Britain, and other governments, exte- 
rior to Central America. These States are the subjects on which the 
guarantees of the convention were to act, and the exclusion of all 
other po^rs from the occupancy of Central America, with a view to 
the security not only of this canal, but all other canals or railroads 
across the isthmus, was one of the main objects to be accomplished by 
the treaty. 

The Earl of Clarendon has himself indicated how absurd it would 
be for the Central American governments to become joint parties to 
this convention, according to the American construction. It would, 
however, be none the less absurd according to the British construction ; 
because, then, no Central American State could accede to the treaty 
without confining itself forever within its existing boundaries, and 
agreeing not to add to its territory and extend its occupation under 
any possible circumstances which might arise in the future. 

Besides, were it possible for Nicaragua, for example, to become a 
party to this joint convention, she would then take upon herself the 
extraordinary obligation to use her own influence with herself, under 
the 4th article, to induce herself to facilitate the construction of the 
canal, and' to use her good offices to procure from herself "the estab- 
lishment of two free ports, one at each end of the canal/' both these 
ports being within her own limits. Consequences almost equally ex- 
traordinary would result from other portions of the* convention. 

But although the contracting parties could not have intended that 
the Central American States should become joint parties to the conven- 
tion, yet they foresaw that it would be necessary to obtain stipulations 
from one or more of them, individually, providing for the security of 
the proposed canal, adapted to their anomalous condition, and without 
interfering in any manner with their territorial possessions. Accord- 
ingly, in the sixth article, and in the clause next following that com- 
mented upon by the Earl of Clarendon, the convention provides as 
follows : " And the contracting parties likewise agree that each shall 
enter into treaty stipulations with such of the Central American States < 
as they may deem advisable, for the purpose of more effectually carry- 
ing out the great design of this convention, namely, that of construct- 
ing and maintaining the said canal as a ship communication between 
the two oceans, for the benefit of mankind, on equal terms to all, and 
of protecting the same," &c, &c. 

In order to arrive at the conclusion that the Central American 
States are embraced in the general language of the first clause of the 
sixth article, it would be necessary to overlook this second clause en- 
tirely, or at least to regard # it as unnecessary and without meaning. 

The undersigned has the honor to renew to the Earl of Clarendon 
the assurance of his distinguished consideration. 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Right Hon. the Earl of Clarendon, dec, dec, dec 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 43 



Statement for Mr. Buchanan. 

Foreign Office, May 2, 1854. 

The substance of the case submitted to her Majesty's government 
by Mr. Buchanan may be briefly stated as follows : 

1. That G-reat Britain, prior to April, 1850, was "in possession of 
the whole coast of Central America, from the Eio Hondo to the port 
and harbor of San Juan de Nicaragua, except that portion of it be- 
tween the Sarstoon and Cape Honduras, together with the adjacent 
Honduras island of Euatan." 

2. That the government of the United States does not understand 
under what title Great Britain, having abandoned the greater part of 
these possessions in 1786, resumed them subsequently ; nor does it 
know precisely at what period the protectorate of Great Britain over 
Mosquito was re-established, the first intimation which the United 
States government had received on the subject being from an Ameri- 
can agent in 1842 ; and that, moreover, Captain Bonnycastle and other 
authorities had never represented the Mosquito shore as extending as 
far as the river and town of San Juan de Nicaragua, which latter the 
Spaniards had considered a place of much importance and the key to 
the Americas. 

3. That it appears to the United States government that Spain, in 
virtue of the treaty of 1786, had a right to object to Great Britain 
establishing herself on the Mosquito coast, or assuming the protectorate 
of Mosquito ; and that Great Britain had, by her treaty with Mexico, 
recognised that the former colonies of Spain stood in the same position 
with respect to other states as old Spain herself, and inherited the ad- 
vantages of the ancient treaties of the mother country ; that the United 
States government had always contested the claim of Great Britain to 
all the possessions held by her in Central America, with the exception 
of that portion of the settlement of Belize which is situated between 
the Rio Hondo and the Sibun ; that it had always resisted the right of 
Great Britain to establish a protectorate over the Mosquitos, and that 
it had learned with great surprise and regret that the British forces 
had, in 1848, expelled the Nicaraguan authorities, which held the port 
and town of San Juan de Nicaragua, in virtue of the old Spanish rights, 
and had then hoisted thereupon the flag of the Mosquitos. 

4. That Mr. Monroe, when President of the United States, had, in 
1823, announced in a public message to Congress that the American 
continents were not, henceforth, to be considered subject to coloniza- 
tion by European powers. 

5. That no claim on the part of Great Britain to act in the name 
or under the authority of the Mosquito Indians could be well founded, 
inasmuch as that race, even if never conquered by Spain, were 
savages, who, according to the practice and principles of all European 
nations which had ever acquired territory on the continent of America, 
had no title to rank as independent states in the territory they occu- 
pied, but had a claim to mere occupancy thereon, such territory being 
the dominion of the discoverer of it, or even of the discoverer of terri- 
tory on the same continent, though far distant from it, by whom, alone, 



44 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

this claim to mere occupancy on the part of the Indians was to he 
extinguished by purchase, as the advances of the white settlements 
rendered it necessary. 

And, finally, that Great Britain, having declared by treaty, in 1850, 
that she would neither colonize, fortify, occupy, nor assume dominion 
over Mosquito or Central America, was thereby, at all events, bound to 
withdraw her protection from the people and territory of the Mos- 
quitos, and moreover to deliver up Kuatan, which was an island 
belonging to Honduras, a Central American State, but which, never- 
theless, had recently been colonized and occupied by Gfreat Britain. 

Such are the main points brought forward by Mr. Buchanan in the 
statement which he has delivered to her Majesty's government. 

If, in speaking of the possessions held by Great Britain previous to 
1850 on the coast of Central America, (the settlement of Belize ex- 
cepted,) Mr. Buchanan means that his expressions should apply to 
that district which is called the Mosquito country, it is proper that her 
Majesty's government should at once state that her Majesty has never 
held any possessions whatsoever in the Mosquito country. But al- 
though Great Britain held no possessions in the Mosquito country, she 
undoubtedly exercised a great and extensive influence over it, as the 
protecting ally of the Mosquito king ; that king or chief having occa- 
sionally been even crowned at Jamaica, under the auspices of the 
British authorities. 

The United States government will, it is apprehended, scarcely ex- 
pect that Great Britain should enter into any explanations or defence 
of her conduct with respect to acts committed by her nearly forty 
years ago, in a matter in which no right or possession of the United 
States was involved. 

The government of the United States would, it is conceived, be much 
and justly surprised if the government of Great Britain were now to 
question the propriety of any of its own long past acts by which no terri- 
torial right of Great Britain had been affected, nor would the Ameri- 
can people consider any justification or explanation of such acts to 
foreign states consistent with the dignity and independent position of 
the United States. The government of the United States, therefore, 
will not be surprised if the government of Great Britain abstains, on 
this occasion, from entering into anything which might appear an 
explanation or defence of its conduct with regard to its long established 
protectorate of the Mosquitos. 

With respect to any right or any interference of the government of 
old Spain, on the subject of the Mosquito protectorate, it must be ob- 
served_, that since the peace of 1815, that government has never raised 
any question with respect to this protectorate ; and as for Great Britain 
having by her treaty with. Mexico recognised, as a principle, that the 
engagements between herself and Spain were necessarily transferred 
to every fraction of the Spanish monarchy which now exists, or may 
exist, on a distinct and independent basis, her Majesty's government 
must entirely deny this assumption. Great Britain, in her treaty with 
Mexico, simply stipulated that British subjects should not be worse 
off under Mexico independent, than under Mexico when a Spanish 
province. It was natural, in recognising the independence of Mexico, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 45 

that Great Britain should make such a stipulation; but the fact of her 
doing so rather proves that she thought a special stipulation necessary, 
and that she did not conceive that she would have enjoyed, under any 
general principle, the privilege she bargained for; and this stipulation, 
as indeed the treaty itself, is a proof that Mexico was not considered 
as inheriting the obligations or rights of Spain. 

But admitting that it may, in some cases, be expedient, although, 
not obligatory, to recognise the rights and obligations of old Spain as 
vested in the new Spanish American States; and allowing that, in con- 
formity with that policy, Great Britain might have thought proper to 
receive, concerning Mosquito, the remonstrances of those neighboring 
republics which have successively risen in America on the ruins of 
the Spanish empire ; even then, it may be observed, that no remon- 
strance was made by any of such republics for many years after the 
protectorate of Great Britain over Mosquito had been a fact well known 
to them ; and moreover, that when such remonstrances were made, 
they were made with similar pretensions, not by one only, but hy 
several of those governments, insomuch that if the Mosquito Indians 
were at this moment withdrawn altogether from the portion of Ameri- 
ca which they now inhabit, and if it were permitted to the States of 
Spanish origin to inherit each respectively the claims of their parent 
State, it would still be a question on which of the claimants the terri- 
tory thus left unoccupied would of right devolve ; whilst it is certain 
that such withdrawal, without previous arrangements, would lead to 
contests alike disadvantageous to the real interests of the several 
States, and to the general prosperity of Central America herself. 

Thus much with reference to the conduct and position of Spain and 
the Central American States with regard to the British protectorate 
in Mosquito ; but with respect to the conduct and position of the 
United States relative thereto, Mr. Buchanan is mistaken in thinking 
that the United States government has always contested and resisted 
the position assumed by Great Britain on the Mosquito coast. 

It may be true that the United States were not informed of the 
position of Great Britain in respect to Mosquito until 1842, but they 
were then informed of it ; and yet there is no trace of their having 
•alluded to this question in their communications with her Majesty's 
government up to the end of 1849. Nay; in 1850, when the Presi- 
dent of the United States presented to Congress various papers relative 
to the affairs of Central America, it will be seen that, on introducing 
these affairs to the attention of Congress, the President's Secretary 
of State for foreign affairs expressly says that the government of 
Nicaragua, in November, 1847, solicited the aid of the United States 
government to prevent an anticipated attack on San Juan, by the 
British forces acting on behalf of the Mosquito king, but received 
no answer ; that the president of Nicaragua addressed the President 
of the United States at the same time, and received no answer ; that 
in April, 1848, the United States consul at Nicaragua, at the request 
of the minister of foreign affairs of that republic, stated the occupa- 
tion of San Juan by a British force, but was not answered ; that on 
the 5th November, 1848, M. Castillon, proceeding to London from 
Nicaragua, and then to Washington, addressed a letter to the United 



46 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

States Secretary of State, soliciting his intervention with regard to 
the claims of Great Britain in right of the Mosquito king, and re- 
ceived no answer ; that on the 12th of January, 1849, Mr. Bancroft, 
then representative of the United States to the court of St. James, re- 
ferring to Mr. Castillon's arrival in London, and the subject of his 
mission to settle the affairs of San Juan de Nicaragua with the Brit- 
ish government, said, " I think it proper to state to you my opinion, 
that Lord Palmerston will not recede. I have, of course, taken no 
part ;" and that again, in March, Mr. Bancroft wrote that Mr. Castil- 
lon would be anxious to seek advice from the United States, but that 
he had always made answer to him ' ' that he was not authorized to 
offer advice." 

It would thus seem, on the authority of the United States govern- 
ment itself, that up to the end of 1849 the United States government 
had made no remark or remonstrance to Great Britain on the subject 
of her protectorate of Mosquito ; and that even with respect to the 
capture of San Juan de Nicaragua (now called Greytown) the United 
States minister in London was not authorized to take any steps con- 
cerning it, nor even to afford to the commissioner from Nicaragua the 
benefit of his counsels and good offices thereupon ; and it is but right 
to observe that the United States government pursued by this course 
towards her Majesty's government that friendly and considerate policy 
which her Majesty's government always wishes to pursue and has 
pursued towards the United States government when that govern- 
ment has had differences with other powers. With regard to the 
grounds on which her Majesty's government made the capture of San 
Juan de Nicaragua in 1848, the desire of her Majesty's government 
to avoid all subjects of controversy, in which it is not absolutely neces- 
sary to enter, restrains it from here adverting to the documents which 
stated the reasons on which her Majesty's government came to the 
resolution it at that time adopted ; and, indeed, as those documents 
were laid before parliament and communicated officially to the United 
States government, it would be superfluous now to recapitulate their 
contents. 

With regard to the doctrine laid down by Mr. President Monroe, in 
1823, concerning the future colonization of the American continent by 
European states, as an international axiom which ought to regulate 
the conduct of European states, it can only be viewed as the dictum 
of the distinguished personage who delivered it ; but hex Majesty's 
government cannot admit that doctrine as an international axiom 
which ought to regulate the conduct of European states. The doc- 
trine with regard to the incapacity of the Indians to exercise the 
rights of sovereign powers must also remain a. doctrine on which each 
State which has to deal with such Indians must be free to exercise its 
own policy and to follow the dictates of its own conscience. It is cer- 
tainly true that Great Britain, Spain, and the United States were all 
at one time in the habit of treating the Indian races in the manner 
which Mr. Buchanan describes ; but this past practice, though general, 
cannot be taken as an invariable guide for any future policy. The 
period has not yet passed beyond the memory of man at which Great 
Britain and the United States, now so nobly distinguished in sup- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 47 

pressing the slave-trade, practised and encouraged that trade and 
deemed it legitimate. 

The project of a free republic, composed chiefly of negroes from the 
United States, and originally established under the enlightened and 
humane patronage of the United States, would have been deemed fifty 
years ago an absurd and impossible chimera ; yet Liberia exists, and 
now flourishes as an independent state. 

Already G-reat Britain, in her own dealings with Indians, has recog- 
nised their rulers as independent chiefs ; whilst in her treaties with 
foreign powers she has spoken of their tribes as nations, and stipula- 
ted for the restoration of their possessions. Thus, on all the above- 
mentioned topics her Majesty's government, without seeking to im- 
pose any opinions on the United States government, claims a right to 
hold its own opinions ; nor indeed does it appear necessary, although, 
doubtless, it would be desirable, that her Majesty's government and the 
United States government should be perfectly agreed with respect to 
them. The one remaining subject to be discussed is, however, of a 
very different character. It relates to a question in which Great Brit- 
ain and the United States are both directly concerned,, and in regard 
to which it is a matter both of honor and interest that they should 
avoid all misunderstanding or disagreement. This subject is the 
rightful interpretation of a treaty engagement to which Great Britain 
and the United States are parties. 

Mr. Buchanan lays it down as a fact, that G-reat Britain held the 
sovereignty of the Mosquito coast prior to 1850 ; and he then states 
that Great Britain still continues to hold this sovereignty, although 
the treaty of 1850 prohibits her from so doing. But Mr. Buchanan 
confounds the two conditions of a sovereignty and of a protectorate, 
and under this error treats the agreement "not to colonize, nor occupy, 
nor fortify, nor assume nor exercise dominion over," as including an 
agreement not to protect. 

With respect to sovereignty, Great Britain never claimed, and does 
not now claim, or hold any sovereignty in or over Mosquito ; but with 
respect to the protectorate which Great Britain has long exercised over 
Mosquito, her Majesty's, government asserts that the treaty of 1850 did 
not, and was not meant to, annihilate such protectorate, but simply to 
confine its powers and limit its influence. 

Now the spirit of a treaty must always be inferred from the circum- 
stances under which it takes place, and the true construction of a 
treaty must be deduced from the literal meaning of the words em- 
ployed in its framing. The circumstances under which the treaty of 
1850 took place were the following : 

Up to March, 1849, i. e. one whole year after the capture of San 
Juan de Nicaragua by the British forces, the United States govern- 
ment made no observation, as has already been stated, to the British 
government, having any allusion to this act'. But in November, 1849, 
Mr. Lawrence, then just arrived in England as ,the representative of 
the United States government, addressed a note to Lord Palmerston, 
not asking any question as to the British protectorate of Mosquito, 
but requesting to know whether her Majesty's government would join 
with the United States in guarantying the neutrality of a ship-canal, 



48 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

railway, or other communication between the two oceans, to he open 
to the world, and common to all nations ; and whether the British 
government intended to occupy or colonize Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the 
Mosquito coast, (so called,) or any part of Central America. To this 
note Lord Palmerston replied by stating that her Majesty's govern- 
ment had no intention to occupy or colonize Nicaragua or Costa Rica, 
the Mosquito coast, nor any part of Central America ; and that her 
Majesty's government would feel great pleasure in combining and co- 
operating with the government of the United States for the purpose 
of assisting the operations of a company which might be formed with 
a view to establish a general communication, by canal or railroad, 
across the isthmus separating the northern and southern portions 
of the American continent, both by offering security for the works 
while in progress and when completed and in use, and by placing 
such communication, through the means of political arrangements, 
beyond the reach of molestation, disturbance, or obstacle, by reason 
of international disputes which may at any time unfortunately arise, 
upon the conditions, moreover, that such communications should at 
all times be open and accessible for the commerce of all nations, and 
on equal terms for all. These notes, copies of which are hereunto 
annexed, are of great importance, inasmuch as they laid the founda- 
tion for the subsequent convention of Washington, whilst they ex- 
plain the nature of the feelings entertained at that time by the United 
States government and by the government of her Majesty. It was 
clear that the United States government, which had regarded the af- 
fairs of Central America not long before with comparative indiffer- 
ence, had had its attention lately called to this part of the world by • 
its acquisition of California, and the discovery of the ore which 
that region was found to contain — circumstances which rendered of 
vast importance some safe and rapid means of communication between 
the possessions of the United States on the Pacific and the possessions 
of the United States on the Atlantic. A project of a canal commu- 
nication, moreover, through the State and Lake of Nicaragua and 
the river San Juan was then in contemplation, and Nicaragua had 
granted to a company of Americans whatever rights it possessed over 
the proposed line of traffic. 

Great Britain, however, by having placed a people under her pro- 
tection in possession of the port and town of San Juan de Nicaragua, 
might exert her influence either to prevent this canal being formed, 
or, if she allowed it to be formed, might aim, through her protector- 
ate, at acquiring over such canal peculiar rights or absolute control. 

The government of the United States was, therefore, justly anxious 
to know whether the British government would favor or impede the 
construction of a canal by the river San Juan, and whether it would 
attempt to establish a predominant and permanent power over this 
canal, by colonizing, fortifying, occupying, or taking absolute pos- 
session of the country through which it passed. 

The mere protectorate of Great Britain, stripped of those attributes 
which affected the construction and the freedom of the proposed canal, 
was of small consequence to the United States, but, connected with 
those attributes, it was a matter of great importance. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 49 

On the other hand, her Majesty's government, which had just ex- 
pelled the Nicaraguans from G-reytown (or San Juan de Nicaragua) 
and the country adjacent, and had formally discussed and finally re- 
jected the claims of the Nicaraguan government to these contested pos- 
sessions, could not with honor or credit retire, at the mere interposi- 
tion of the United States, from the position it had assumed, or aban- 
don the long-established British protectorate over the Mosquitos, and 
allow the authorities of Nicaragua to re-occupy the ground from 
which they had so recently been driven. But G-reat Britain could 
clearly engage herself to the United States to do all that was required 
respecting the construction and protection of any canal communica- 
tion, to be enjoyed on equal terms by all nations ; and she could also 
limit the powers of her protectorate over Mosquito, so as to remove 
all suspicion or possibility of her using it in any manner that would 
place such canal communication under her exclusive authority and do- 
minion. 

Thus, when the drawing up of a treaty afterwards took place, the 
object of the British negotiator, and, it must be presumed, that of both 
negotiators, necessarily was to draw up such a convention as, without 
conceding any specific point on which one party could not in honor 
yield, would make such concessions on all other points as the other 
party desired ; and if the convention in question be referred to, it will 
be seen that it is drawn up carefully, in such a manner as to make it 
a matter of indifference, so far as the canal is concerned, as to whether 
the port and town of San Juan are under the modified protectorate of 
Great Britain or under the government of Nicaragua. Moreover, in 
drawing up this treaty, both Mr. Clayton and Sir H. L. Bulwer, re- 
ferred to the notes which had passed between Lord Palmerston and; 
Mr.Lawrence, and even made use of the precise terms which had beea 
then employed ; from which it must of necessity be inferred that they 
meant to transfer to their convention, with the words which they bar- 
rowed, the meaning which had previously been attached to those- 
words in the documents from which they extracted them ; and a ref- 
erence to such documents will at once show that Mr. Lawrence, while 
he asked her Majesty's government whether it meant to occupy^, for- 
tify, colonize, or assume or exercise dominion over Mosquito, did not 
allude to the protectorate of Great Britain over that country, and that 
Lord Palmerston, in declaring that her Majesty's government did' not 
intend to do any of these things, expressly left the question concern- 
ing the political relations between Great Britain and the Mosquitos 
untouched. So much for the spirit which presided over the conven- 
tion of 1850. 

With regard to the literal meaning, this treaty declares in words 
that the two parties " will not occupy nor fortify, nor colonize, nor as- 
sume nor exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Eica, the Mos- 
quito coast, nor any part of Central America ;" and that neither party 
will " make use of any protection which either affords or may afford, 
or any alliance which either has or may have" with any state or 
people, for thepurposeof occupying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, 
Costa Rica, the Mosquito coast, or any part of Central America, or of' 
assuming or exercising dominion over the same. 
4 A 



50 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Mr. Buchanan says., with regard to that portion of the foregoing sen- 
tence which restricts the use which Great Britain or. the United States 
might make of any protection which either might afford to any state 
or people, it has been said that this article of the convention acknow- 
ledges by implication the protectorate of Great Britain over Mosquito. 
Now her Majesty's government does not pretend that in this article 
the United States acknowledges the aforesaid protectorate of Great 
Britain in Mosquito ; it was never the intention of her Majesty's gov- 
ernment, or that of the British negotiator, to obtain indirectly that 
which was not asked for openly ; but it is evident that this article clearly 
acknowledges the possibility of Great Britain or the United States 
affording protection to Mosquito, or any Central American State, 
and that the intention of the parties was not to prohibit or abolish, 
but to limit and restrict such protectorate. But supposing all men- 
tion of protection in the treaty had been omitted, and that the ques- 
tion at issue merely rested on the words " colonize, fortify, occupy, 
and assume or exercise dominion over," is there any one of these 
terms which excludes the right of protection, although each of them 
limits its capability ? Defending or protecting is a temporary act of 
friendship ; occupying, colonizing, fortifying, or acquiring sovereignty, 
are acts which have a permanent result. 

It has never been held that neutral territories or kingdoms, over 
which other kingdoms are prohibited by treaty from acquiring domin- 
ion — which other kingdoms cannot colonize, occupy, nor fortify — may 
not be defended by such kingdoms at the desire and request of the 
neutral states, although it would doubtless be necessary for any na- 
tion undertaking such defence to declare formally and promise clearly 
that it would not turn this transitory and allowable act into one of a 
continuous nature, which engagements had prohibited. 

No one will maintain that the bar to colonization or fortifying is a 
bar to all protection ; no one will assert that to afford protection to a 
state] and establish dominion over it are necessarily the same thing ; 
no one will contend that to send a naval or military force for the pur- 
pose of expelling an enemy from the territory of an ally, or of punish- 
ing his antagonist, is to hold or occupy the territory of that ally or of 
his enemy. 

Were this the sense of the word, as inserted in the treaty of 1850, 
as that word is equally applied to all Central America as well as to 
Mosquito, it would have a far wider signification than her Majesty's 
government contemplated, or than the United States government 
would in all probability admit; for in such a case neither Great Britain 
nor the United States could, in any circumstance, employ force, naval 
or military, against any Central American State, however great or 
just the provocation they might receive. 

The citizens of the United States, for instance, might, on their way 
from California to "Washington, be arrested and confined, on any sus- 
picion or pretext, and the demands of the United States for their release 
refused. But is it to be argued that, under such circumstances, the 
United States could not send an armed force into Nicaragua to compel 
the release of the citizens from California, and chastise those who had 
unjustly incarcerated them ? The United States government, however , 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 51 

•would "be bound to state the object it bad in view in sending a force into 
Nicaragua ; it would be bound to declare that it did not mean to colo- 
nize, fortify, occupy, or establish its sovereignty over Nicaragua; and by 
adhering to this pledge its treaty obligations would be fulfilled. But 
surely this dispute, as to the nature and meaning of protection, is one 
that should not have arisen with respect to the treaty of 1850. The 
very object and nature of that treaty ought to manifest that protec- 
tion is not equivalent to occupation or sovereignty, and, that it does 
not of necessity imply the acquisition of any exclusive advantages to 
the parties protecting, or give those parties exclusive control over that 
which is protected. 

Great Britain and the United States, by the said treaty, bind them- 
selves to protect certain canals or railways, which may be formed 
through various independent States. Great Britain and the United 
States do not, by this protection, acquire any right of sovereignty or 
occupation over such canals or railways, whilst they carefully exclude 
themselves from having any exclusive control over them, and from 
deriving from them any exclusive privileges. 

It is surely unnecessary further to discuss the construction of the 
treaty with reference to the protection of Mosquito. That her Majes- 
ty's government merely expresses now that view of the treaty 
which it entertained, and which it had understood that the govern- 
ment of the United States entertained, when the treaty was concluded, 
is evident from the fact that, within little more than a month after 
the treaty of 1850 had been ratified, her Majesty's minister at Wash- 
ington entered into further negotiations with the government of the 
United States relative to the position of Mosquito, interpreting the 
treaty as her Majesty's government now interprets it. That there 
was nothing extraordinary, unnatural, or unfair, in the interpre- 
tation thus given to the treaty by her Majesty's government, is 
equally evident from the fact that such interpretation was at once 
accepted by the Secretary of State, (Mr. Webster,) than whom no 
statesman at that time living, whether in Europe or America, was 
more fitted to comprehend the spirit or analyse the wording of any 
international obligation ; and that her Majesty's government was not 
at that time, and is not now, animated by any such object as that of 
obtaining any peculiar influence or control over the river San Juan, or 
the canal that may be formed from its waters, is likewise demon- 
strated by the circumstance, worth noting, that the object which 
Great Britain had in view in pursuing these further negotiations 
with the United States, was that of withdrawing her protection from 
the very town called Grey town, or San Juan de Nicaragua, and the 
adjoining territory, and of placing the same in the hands of some 
Central American State, on conditions in nowise beneficial to herself, 
or only beneficial in so far as such conditions tended to maintain a 
state of peace and tranquillity in that part of the world to which they 
related, and to preserve the Mosquitos in a territory bordering that 
which was to be ceded in an inoffensive state of neutrality and security. 
Indeed, when her Majesty's minister, in a conversation which took 
place about the end of July, 1851, on this subject, agreed, on the 
part of the British government, to assign Greytown to Nicaragua, 



52 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

upon her coming to a fair settlement with Costa Eica as to some of 
the points of contention between them, and upon her agreeing to 
leave the Mosquito people unmolested within certain portions of 
the territory which they now occupy, and over which the Spanish 
dominion never, otherwise than nominally, extended, Mr. Webster, 
whilst observing that the United States had no direct interest in any 
question concerning Nicaragua and Mosquito, except as respected the 
construction of a canal and its free navigation, and that, consequently, 
he did not wish to take an active part in any negotiations extending 
beyond these limits, added, addressing himself to the Nicaragua!! 
minister, who was present, that he considered the oifer made by the 
British minister was one which the Nicaraguan government might 
consider as a fair basis for an arrangement ; and her Majesty's govern- 
ment then entertained the hope and belief that by the friendly under- 
standing subsisting between Great Britain and the United States, and 
the joint efforts of both, such a settlement would be speedily con- 
cluded between all the parties interested as would enable her Majesty's 
government to release itself from the duty of protecting or defending 
Greytown, in which, for the time being, a self-elected body, in a 
great measure composed of United States citizens, was 'carrying on the 
government in the name of the king of Mosquito. 

The preceding observations comprise all that her Majesty's govern- 
ment has now to say with regard to that portion of Mr. Buchanan's 
statement, to which they have been intended to reply. 

But although the connexion of Great Britain with Mosquito formed 
one of the subjects of Mr. Buchanan's communication, another sub- 
ject, not less important, is the actual condition of British Honduras, 
Buatan, and the Bay islands. 

It was never in the contemplation of her Majesty's government, nor 
in that of the government of the United States, that the treaty of 
1850 should interfere in any way with her Majesty's settlement at 
Belize or its dependencies. 

It was not necessary that this should have been particularly stated, in- 
asmuch as it is generally considered that the term " Central America," 
a term of modern invention, could only appropriately apply to those 
states at one time united under the name of the " Central American 
republic," and now existing as five separate republics ; but in order 
that there should be no possible misconception at any future period 
relative to this point, the two negotiators, at the time of ratifying the 
treaty, exchanged declarations to the effect that neither of the gov- 
ernments they represented had meant in such treaty to comprehend 
the settlement and dependencies in question. 

Mr. Clayton's declaration to her Majesty's government on this sub- 
ject was ample and satisfactory, as the following extract from his note 
of July 4, 1850, will show : 

"The language of the first article of the convention concluded on 
the 19th day of April last, between the United States and Great 
Britain, describing the country not to be occupied, &c. , by either of 
the parties, was, as you know, twice approved by the government, and 
it was neither understood by them, nor by either of us, (the negotia- 
tors,) to include the British settlement in Honduras, (commonly called 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 53 

British Honduras,) as distinct from the State of Honduras, nor the 
small islands in the neighborhood of that settlement, which may be 
known as its dependencies. 

" To this settlement and to these islands the treaty we negotiated 
was not intended by either of us to apply. The title to them, it is 
now and has been my intention, throughout the whole negotiation, to 
leave as the treaty leaves it, without denying or affirming, or in any 
way meddling with the same, just as it stood previously. 

" The chairman of the Committee on Foreign Eelations of the Senate, 
the Hon. W. R. King, informs me that the Senate perfectly under- 
stood that the treaty did not include British Honduras." Such having 
been the mutual understanding as to the exception of the settlement 
of Belize and its dependencies from the operation of the treaty, the 
only question relative to this settlement and its dependencies, in 
reference to the treaty, that can now arise, is, as to what is the settle- 
ment of Belize and its dependencies? or, in other words, as to what is 
British Honduras and its dependencies ? Her Majesty's government 
certainly understood that the settlement of Belize, as here alluded to, 
is the settlement of Belize as established in 1850 ; and it is the more 
warranted in this conclusion from the fact that the United States 
had, in 1847, sent a consul to this settlement, which consul had re- 
ceived his exequatur from the British government — a circumstance 
which constitutes a recognition by the United States government of 
the settlement of British Honduras under her Majesty as it then 
existed. 

Her Majesty's government at once states this, because it perceives 
that Mr. Buchanan restricts the said settlement within the boundaries 
to which it was confined by the treaty of 1*186 ; whilst her Majesty's 
government not only has to repeat that the treaties with old Spain 
cannot be held, as a matter of course, to be binding with respect to all 
the various detached portions of the old Spanish American monarchy, 
but it has also to observe that the treaty of 1786 was put an end to 
by a subsequent state of war between Great Britain and Spain ; that 
during that war the boundaries of the British settlement in question 
were enlarged, and that when peace was re-established between Great 
Britain and Spain, no treaty of a political nature, or relating to terri- 
torial limits, revived those treaties between G-reat Britain and Spain 
which had previously existed. 

Her Majesty's government, in stating this fact, declares distinctly, 
at the same time, that it has no projects of political ambition or 
aggrandizement with respect to the settlement referred to ; and that it 
will be its object to come to some prompt, fair, and amicable arrange- 
ment with the States in the vicinity of British Honduras for regu- 
lating the limits which should be given to it, and which shall not 
henceforth be extended beyond the boundaries now assigned to them. 

As to Ruatan and the adjoining islands, all that can be debatable 
as to them is, whether they are island dependencies of Belize, or 
attached to some Central American State. Now it cannot be disputed, 
that whenever Ruatan has been permanently occupied, either in re- 
mote or recent times, by anything more than a military guard or flag- 
staff, the occupation has been by British subjects. 



54 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

It is true that the republic of Central America declared that it had 
had a flag flying in that island from 1821 to 1839 ; but this fact 
merely rested on that republic's declaration, and all that is positively 
known is, that when the British government were aware that a foreign 
flag was flying at Ruatan, a British ship-of-war was sent to haul it 
down, and since that time no attempt has been made to re-establish 
it ; but, on the contrary, when on two or three occasions complaints 
have been brought by the citizens of Central American States against 
the settlers in Ruatan, to the commandant at Truxillo, the command- 
ant has referred them to Belize, telling them that the island was 
British. 

It is, moreover, a fact, that Ruatan has been, of late years, without 
any instigation on the part of her Majesty's government, spontane- 
ously occupied by British subjects, and that the superintendent of 
Belize has been in the habit of visiting the island, appointing the 
magistrates in it, and generally managing its affairs. In going back 
to ancient times, it is also well known that in 1742 the English were 
formally settled at Ruatan, and that in the Atlas of the West Indian 
islands, published by Jeffries, the king's geographer, in 1796, Rattan, 
or Ruatan, is colored as a British possession ; and although this island 
and that of Bonacea have doubtless been at various times left unoccu- 
pied, and at others claimed or held by other powers, it is certain that 
in 1838, 1839, and 1840, Great Britain not only asserted her right to 
the same, but declared her intention to maintain that right by force. 

These circumstances, without entering further into the subject, will 
at least prove that the pretensions of Great Britain to consider Ruatan 
and Bonacea dependencies of Belize is of long standing, and existed 
certainly at the period of the treaty of 1850. Indeed, Mr. Buchanan, 
in his statement, observes that Ruatan was occupied in 1850 by Great 
Britain. 

But if Ruatan was at that time known to be occupied by Great 
Britain as a settlement of Belize, and the United States government, 
notwithstanding, considered it to have been a portion of Central Amer- 
ica, and thereby comprehended in the treaty, which Belize and its de- 
pendencies were not, the United States government would, beyond 
doubt, have openly stated that it did not consider Ruatan included 
in the term iC island dependencies ;" and Great Britain was there- 
fore justified, since no such exception was made, in deeming that her 
claim to Ruatan as a part of the Belize settlement was not about to be 
disputed. 

Her Majesty's government deems that it has, by the foregoing 
observations, furnished an adequate reply to the statement of Mr. 
Buchanan, and proved that the obligations of the treaty have in no 
respect been infringed. But having performed this duty, her Majes- 
ty's government desires to say that it would be far more to its satis- 
faction to arrange, on fair terms, any differences of opinion with the 
government of the United States, than to prolong discussion and ar- 
gument respecting such differences. 

It has also no difficulty in adding, that although it did not, by the 
treaty of 1850, abandon the right of Great Britain to protect the Mos- 
quitos, yet it did intend to reduce and limit the exercise of that right ; 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 55 

the practical difference between Great Britain and the United States 
with regard to the only mutually im-portant portion of .Mosquito, 
namely, that portion to which the construction and condition of the 
canal, which formed the origin and basis of the treaty of 1850, applies, 
is very small indeed. That difference does *not turn upon the point 
whether Great Britain should retain her protection over the port and 
town of San Juan and the northern bank of that river, but upon the 
conditions on which that protection should be withdrawn. 

In short, the practical question at issue, relative to Greytown and 
that part of the Mosquito country bordering upon the river San Juan, 
is not whether Great Britain should, directly or indirectly, exercise 
dominion over the same, but whether Nicaragua, or some other equally 
independent State, should obtain possession thereof in a manner con- 
sonant with the honorable obligations of Great Britain, the peace of 
the Central American continent, and the safety from persecution of 
the Mosquito Indians ; or, on the other hand, whether Nicaragua 
should be put in possession of that territory in a manner almost cer- 
tain to produce hostilities between Nicaragua and Costa Eica, and to 
lead to the persecution and destruction of the Mosquito people ; an al- 
ternative to which Great Britain could not consent, and which the 
government of the United States could have no motive in requiring. 

It is true that, in that more remote portion of the Mosquito territory 
where the chief or king of the Mosquitos himself resides, a British 
consul or agent also resides, and this resident may oftentimes be called 
upon to give his opinion or advice to the Mosquito government, as is 
usual when weak governments are in alliance with strong ones, more 
especially when those strong ones have agreed to protect the weak 
ones from external aggression, and may, therefore, reasonably expect 
to have such influence over their policy as may prevent them from 
giving just pretext for invasion. 

It is true, also, that Englishmen may thus be in the councils of 
the king of Mosquito, acting as his ministers ; but Englishmen and 
Americans both hold the same position in the Sandwich islands, the 
government of which is carried on by foreigners, but is nevertheless 
(and the race is Indian) considered and treated as independent. To 
alter this state of things might at the present moment be impossible ; 
but her Majesty's government would be ready and willing to enter into 
such engagements as should prevent Great Britain from receiving any 
privileges or advantages from the Mosquito government not granted 
to other States. 

Her Majesty's government can hardly anticipate any difficulty at 
this time with the United States respecting the continental establish- 
ment of Honduras, the limits of which, in 1850, were so well known 
and can be so easily ascertained, and which will not be extended ; but 
having shown that its pretensions to the islands of Kuatan and Bonacea 
are of no recent date, and that they were unquestioned by the United 
States government in 1850, her Majesty's government cannot admit 
that an alteration in the internal form of government of these islands 
is a violation of the treaty, or affords a just cause of remonstrance to 
the United States. 



56 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

There are at all times two modes of dealing with matters of busi- 
ness between nations, the one calculated to excite mutual irritation, 
the other to mitigate it ; the one tending to prolong and increase 
differences, the other to diminish and remove them. 

The latter is the mode which her Majesty's government earnestly 
desired in the present instance to adopt and to see adopted, for it can 
hardly he necessary to say that there is no government with which 
the people and government of Great Britain more sincerely desire to* 
live in intimate and friendly relations than that of the United States. 
It is in accordance with the spirit which her Majesty's government 
thus distinctly avows, that her Majesty's government proposes to that 
of the United States. 

That the two governments of Great Britain and the United States 
should at once endeavor to come to some friendly understanding as to 
the government which should he definitively formed at Greytown, in 
order to admit of the Mosquito authority being withdrawn therefrom ; 
and as to the engagements which such government should enter into 
with regard to the claims of Costa Kica and the future non-molesta- 
tion of the Mosquitos ; and that the two governments should endeavor, 
in the same manner, to come to some friendly understanding as to 
the mode by which protection may be most effectually afforded to the 
Mosquito Indians. 

It is the desire of her Majesty's government not only to maintain 
the convention of 1850 intact, but to consolidate and strengthen it, by 
strengthening and consolidating the friendly relations which it was 
calculated to cement and perpetuate. Her Majesty's government 
regrets that any misunderstanding should have arisen with respect to 
its terms ; but it entertains the firm belief that, by the explanations it 
has now given, and the proposals it makes, that misunderstanding 
will be completely removed. 

CLARENDON. 



Remarks in reply to Lord Clarendon's statement of May 2, 1854. 

United States Legation, 

London, July 22, 1854. 

It would not seem necessary to extend these remarks by pointing 
out what might be deemed inaccuracies in Lord Clarendon's intro- 
ductory resume of the points in Mr. Buchanan's statement of January 
6, 1854, nor of the order in which these points have been presented. 
It is sufficient to observe that the sixth and last point of this resume, 
embracing the true construction of the convention of April 19, 1850, 
and which was the first discussed in Mr. Buchanan's statement, being 
by far the most important, it is entitled to precedence. 

The American government cordially reciprocates the desire expressed 
by that of Great Britain, "to live on intimate terms and friendly rela- 
tions " with the United States. Strong bonds of interest and affinity 
ought to unite the two nations in perpetual peace and friendship. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 57 

Mr. Buchanan therefore deplores the unhappy misunderstanding which 
exists between them, in regard to the construction of a convention, 
which it was believed on the part of the American government would 
terminate all their pre-existing difficulties in Central America. How 
unfortunate would it be if this convention, instead of settling, should 
only complicate these difficulties. 

In replying to the British statement, whilst it has become his duty 
to maintain the proposition that Great Britain has failed to carry into 
effect the provisions of the convention — a subject in its nature intrin- 
sically delicate — he will endeavor to perform the task in a manner con- 
sistent with the exalted respect which he entertains for Great Britain. 

The rights and the duties of the parties must be regulated by the 
first article of the convention of April 19, 1850, and these observa- 
tions shall, therefore, be primarily directed to the ascertainment of 
its true meaning. The following is a copy of its text : " The govern- 
ments of the United States and Great Britain hereby declare, that 
neither the one nor the other will ever obtain or maintain for itself 
any exclusive control over the said ship-canal ; agreeing, that neither 
will ever erect or maintain any fortifications commanding the same, 
or in the vicinity thereof, or occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume 
or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Eica, the Mosquito 
coast, or any part of Central America ; nor will either make use of 
any protection which either affords, or may afford, or any alliance 
which either has or may have, to or with any State or people, for the 
purpose of erecting or maintaining any such fortifications, or of occu- 
pying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, Costa Kica, the Mosquito 
coast, or any part of Central America, or of assuming or exercising 
dominion over the same ; nor will the United States or Great Britain 
take advantage of any intimacy, or use any alliance, connexion, or 
influence that either may possess, with any state or government 
through whose territory the said canal may pass, for the purpose of 
acquiring or holding, directly or indirectly, for the citizens or subjects 
of the one, any rights or advantages in regard to commerce or navi- 
gation through the said canal, which shall not be offered on the same 
terms to the citizens or subjects of the other." 

In the course of these remarks, it is proposed to maintain that this 
article requires Great Britain to withdraw from the possession of 
Euatan and the other Bay islands, the Mosquito coast and the terri- 
tory between the Sibun and the Sarstoon. The Belize settlement will 
demand a separate consideration. 

What, then, is the fair construction of the article? It embraces 
two objects : 1. It declares that neither of the parties shall ever ac- 
quire any exclusive control over the ship-canal to be constructed be- 
tween the Atlantic and the Pacific by the route of the river San Juan 
de Nicaragua, and that neither of them shall ever erect or maintain 
any fortifications commanding the same or in the vicinity thereof. 
In regard to this stipulation, no disagreement is known to exist be- 
tween the parties. But the article proceeds further in its mutuallyf 
self-denying policy, and in the second place declares that neither o 
the parties will " occupy or fortify, or colonize, or assume, or exercise 



58 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Bica, the Mosquito coast, or any 
part of Central America." 

We now reach the true point. Does this language require that 
Great Britain shall withdraw from her existing possessions in Central 
America, including "the Mosquito coast ?" The language peculiarly 
applicable to this coast will find a more appropriate place in a subse- 
quent portion of these remarks. 

If any individual enters into a solemn and explicit agreement that 
lie will not u occupy" any given tract of country then actually occu- 
pied by him, can any proposition be clearer, than that he is bound by 
his agreement to withdraw from such occupancy ? Were this not the 
case, these words would have no meaning, and the agreement would 
become a mere nullity. Nay, more ; in its effect it would amount to a 
confirmation of the party in the possession of that very territory 
•which he had bound himself not to occupy, and would practically be 
equivalent to an agreement that he should remain in possession — a 
contradiction in terms. It is difficult to comment on language which 
appears so plain, or to offer arguments to prove that the meaning of 
words is not directly opposite to their well-known signification. 

And yet the British government consider that the convention inter- 
feres with none of their existing possessions in Central America ; that 
it is entirely prospective in its nature, and merely prohibits them from 
making new acquisitions. If this be the case, then it amounts to a 
recognition of their rights, on the part of the American government, 
to all the possessions which they already hold, whilst the United 
States have bound themselves by the very same instrument never, 
under any circumstances, to acquire the possession of a foot of terri- 
tory in Central America. The mutuality of the convention would 
thus be entirely destroyed ; and whilst Great Britain may continue to 
hold nearly the whole eastern coast of Central America, the United 
States have abandoned the right for all future time to acquire any 
territory, or to receive into the American Union any of the States in 
that portion of their own continent. This self-imposed prohibition 
•was the great objection to the treaty in the United States at the time 
of its conclusion, and was powerfully urged by some of the best men 
in the country. Had it then been imagined that whilst it prohibited 
the United States from acquiring territory, under any possible circum- 
stances, in a portion of America through which their thoroughfares 
to California and Oregon must pass, the convention, at the same time, 
permitted Great Britain to remain in the occupancy of all her existing 
possessions in that region, Mr. Buchan m expresses the confident con- 
viction that there would not have been a single vote in the American 
Senate in favor of its ratification. In every discussion, it was taken 
for granted that the convention required Great Britain to withdraw 
from these possessions, and thus place the parties upon an exact equality 
in Central America. Upon this construction of the convention there 
was quite as great an unanimity of opinion as existed in the House of 
Lords, that the convention with Spain of 1786 required Great Britain 
to withdraw from the Mosquito protectorate. 

There is the strongest reason to believe that the same construction 
was placed upon the convention, by the government of Great Britain, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 59 

at the time of its conclusion. If this were not the case, why their 
strenuous efforts, before the ratifications were exchanged, to have the 
British settlement of Belize specially excepted from its operation? 
Upon the opposite construction of the convention, it ought to have 
been their desire to place that settlement under its protection, and 
thus secure Great Britain in its occupancy. 

The conduct of the government of Great Britain, on this occasion, 
can be satisfactorily accounted for only upon the principle that, per- 
ceiving the language of the convention to be sufficiently explicit and 
comprehensive to embrace Belize, they must have made these efforts 
to prevent the necessity of their withdrawal from that settlement. 
And as no attempt was made to except any other of their possessions 
from its operation, the rule that expressio unius est exclusio alterius 
applies to the case, and amounts to an admission that they were bound 
to withdraw from all their other Central American possessions. 

If this be the true construction of the convention, as well as its 
manifest spirit, then let us apply it to the object it was intended to 
embrace. And first of Buatan — thus, for the present, disembarrass- 
ing ourselves from the Mosquito protectorate. 

It is not denied by the British statement, that Buatan " is clearly 
a Central American island," " and but thirty miles distant from the 
[Honduras] port of Truxillo." Indeed, it was impossible that this 
could be denied. Why, then, is this island not embraced by the con- 
vention ? The only reason given for it is the allegation that Buatan 
and the adjacent islands were dependencies of Belize, and were pro- 
tected from the operation of the convention by Mr. Clayton's declara- 
tion of the 4th July, 1850. Now admitting, for the sake of argument, 
that this declaration, is binding on the United States; to what does it 
amount ? Its language is very explicit. The convention was not un- 
derstood by either of the negotiators, says Mr. Clayton, " to include 
the British settlement in Honduras, (commonly called British Hondu- 
ras, as distinct from the State of Honduras,) nor to the small islands 
in the neighborhood of that settlement which may be known as its depend- 
encies. ' ' 

11 The small islands in the neighborhood of that settlement" — 
"What are they ? These are undoubtedly Cayo Casina and " the clus- 
ter of small islands" on the coast, at the distance of " three leagues 
from the river Sibon," particularly specified in the British convention 
with Spain of'1786. Indeed, the same construction would seem clearly 
to have been placed upon this convention by the British minister at 
Washington, in his letter to Mr. Clayton of the 7th of January, 1854, 
a copy of which is doubtless in the possession of Lord Clarendon. It 
would be a strained construction of Mr. Clayton's carefully guarded 
language to make his "small islands in the neighborhood" embrace 
the comparatively large and very important island of Kuatan, with 
its excellent harbors, not in the neighborhood, but hundreds of miles 
distant ; an island represented " as the key of the Bay of Honduras 
and the focus of the trade of the neighboring countries," which is 
considerably larger, according to Captain Henderson, than many of 
the West India islands in cultivation ; and in its soil and natural 
advantages not inferior to any of them. This would be to make the 



60 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

dependency far more valuable than the principal, and to engraft an 
absolute sovereignty upon a mere usufruct. And here it may be 
proper to observe, that the quotation ' ' island dependencies ' ' in the 
British statement, if intended to be made from any part«of Mr. Clay- 
ton's declaration, is an incorrect quotation. His language is not 
" island dependencies," but "small islands in the neighborhood of 
Belize." This island is, then, clearly a Central American island in 
the neighborhood, not of Belize, but of the State of Honduras ; and 
in the language of Mr. Clayton's statement, so much relied upon, is 
one of " the proper dependencies " of that State, and is therefore em- 
braced by the treaty. Indeed, it would be little short of an absurdity 
for Mr. Clayton to have excepted, as it is contended he ought to have 
done, from his declaration, including only " the small islands in the 
neighborhood" of Belize, the distant, large, and valuable island of 
Ruatan. And yet it is alleged, from his omission to do this, that 
Great Britain was justified ' ' in deeming that her claim to Ruatan as 
a part of the Belize settlement was not about to be disputed." 

The British statement seems to attach considerable importance to 
the fact, but why it is difficult to conceive, that " Mr. Buchanan in 
his statement observes that Ruatan was occupied in 1850 by Great 
Britain." It was for the very reason that not only Ruatan, but 
nearly the whole eastern coast of Central America, were occupied by 
Great Britain, that the government of the United States were so anx- 
ious to conclude a convention requiring her to withdraw from this 
occupation. It was for this reason that the United States, as an ample 
consideration for this, withdrawal, bound themselves never to occupy 
any portion of Central America. But for this agreement to withdraw, 
the United States, in self-defence, would have been compelled to 
accept cessions of territory in Central America ; because, without such 
territory, Great Britain would have been left in a position absolutely 
to command not only the projected canal by the Lake- Nicaragua, but 
all other canals and railroads which may be constructed through any 
part of the isthmus. The convention was, therefore, not confined to 
this single route, but extended its protection "to any other practica- 
ble communications, whether by canal or railway, across the isthmus 
which connects North and South America." Both parties were to 
stand aloof, and neither of them was to occupy territory in the vicinity 
of any of these routes ; much less an island, which, from its position 
and excellent harbors, would enable a strong naval power in posses- 
sion of it to close any canals or railroads which might be constructed 
across the isthmus. 

Now, whether Great Britain was in the occupation of Ruatan at the 
date of the convention by a good or by a bad title, cannot make the 
least difference in regard to the construction of that instrument. The 
case might have been different had the question arisen between her 
and the State of Honduras. The question between the United States 
and Great Britain, however, is not as to the validity of her title, but, 
no matter what it may have been, whether she has not agreed to 
abandon her occupation under this title. Not what was the state of 
things before, but what she agreed it should become after the conclu- 
sion of the convention. Still, out of deference to the British state- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 61 

merit, which contends that the British title was good to this island at 
the conclusion of the convention, it is but proper to examine the rea- 
sons on which this claim was founded. 

Ancient possession is invoked to sustain this claim, and it is said 
that " it is well known that [in] 1742 the English were formally set- 
tled at Euatan ;" hut, in reply, it may be stated that this possession 
was ypeedily abandoned. We are informed by Eees's Cyclopedia, 
published in London in 1819, that "the English in the year 1742 
formed a settlement here [in Ruatan] for the purpose of carrying on 
the logwood trade, but it ivas soon abandoned." 

In answer to the map published by Jeffries in 1796, cited by Lord 
Clarendon, it may be observed that there is another copy of the very 
same map in the British Museum, published in the same year, on 
which Buatan is not colored as a British possession. At the date of 
this map, more than a half a century ago, the geography of that por- 
tion of America was comparatively but little known. For this reason, 
the map published at London in 1851, "by James Wyld, geographer 
to the Queen," "of the West India and Bahama islands, with the 
adjacent coasts of Yucatan, Honduras, Caraccas," &c, also to be 
found in the British Museum, is of much higher authority, and upon 
its face Euatan and the other Bay islands are assigned to Honduras. 
The same view is presented by the same author on a former " map of 
the West India and Bahama islands," &c, published in 1849, and 
now in possession of the legation. 

It may also be confidently asserted as a well-known historical fact, 
that if the English were in the occupation of Euatan at the date of 
the treaty with Spain of 1786, they abandoned it immediately there- 
after in obedience to that treaty. Brook's General Gazetteer, pub- 
lished in London in 1853, distinctly states this fact. It says, " this 
beautiful island, partially covered with wood, was once in possession 
of the English, who fortified its excellent harbor, but abandoned it 
when they withdrew from the Mosquito shore." And Johnson, in his 
Dictionary of Geography, published in London in 1851 and 1852, 
describes it as an island off the north coast of Central America, '■'•for- 
merly belonging to the English." 

"Near its southern extremity is a good harbor, with batteries 
erected by the English during their former occupation." 

At what period, then, after the convention of 1786, did this island 
cease to be Spanish and become English? It is admitted by Captain 
Henderson, an officer of the British army, in his account of the British 
settlement of Honduras, an authority which will not be disputed, that 
it was still a Spanish island in 1804. The next we hear of it is that 
it was in the possession of Honduras, as the successor of Spain, in 
1830, whilst the confederation of the Central American States still 
continued to exist; and was in that year (not in 18S5, as in the 
former statement) captured from that State by the British forces, but 
was soon afterwards restored. The following extract from Crowe's 
"Gospel in Central America," an able and interesting work, pre- 
pared after personal observation, and published in London in 1850, 
gives a correct account of the transaction. The author says, 1830 : 
" The only notable breach upon peace and good order was the seizure 



62 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

of the island of Ruatan, in the hay of Honduras, hy the authorities 
of the neighhoring British settlement. But upon complaint hy the 
federal government, the act of the superintendent of Belize was theo- 
retically disallowed hy his government, though it has siry3e been prac- 
tically repeated in precisely the same quarter and under the sanction 
of the same power." There is other evidence of a similar character 
in possession of Mr. Buchanan ; hut as it proceeds from American 
sources, it is deemed best to let the facts, especially as they have not 
been contradicted by the British statement, rest upon the authority of 
a British author of highly respectable character. The author then 
proceeds to speak in indignant terms of its second capture and annex- 
ation in 1841, denouncing it as an " inglorious revolution." 

Lord Clarendon, in his statement, admits that this island and that 
of Bonacea " have doubtless been at various times left unoccupied, 
and at others claimed or held by other powers ;" but savs, "it is cer- 
tain that in 1838, 1839, and 1840, [it ought to have been in 1841,] 
Great Britain not only asserted her right to the same, but declared 
her intention to maintain that right by force." 

That is, in substance, that Great Britain captured this island from 
Honduras in 1841, and expelled the troops of that State from it, and 
now maintains that this capture gives her title. It is impossible that 
Great Britain can claim this island by the right of conquest, because 
the capture was made in a time of profound peace. She cannot con- 
vert the very act of which Honduras complains as a wrong and an 
outrage, into the foundation of British title. Of the manner in which 
the seizure of Ruatan was made by the superintendent of Belize, in 
1841, Mr. Crowe speaks in the following language : 

" As he expected, Colonel McDonald found only a few inhabitants, 
under care of a sergeant, and a small detachment of soldiers belonging 
to the State of Honduras. These being incapable of resistance, he 
proceeded to haul down the flag of the republic, and to hoist that of 
Great Britain in its stead. No sooner, however, had he re-embarked, 
than he had the mortification of seeing the Union Jack replaced by 
the blue and white stripes of Honduras. He subsequently returned 
and completed the inglorious revolution, by taking such precautions 
and making such threats as he thought necessary." 

The British statement contests the principle, that the Central 
American provinces,, having by a successful revolution become inde- 
pendent States, succeeded, within their respective limits, to all the 
territorial rights of Spain. 

As the statement presents no reason for denying this principle, it is 
not deemed necessary to assign reasons in its support in addition to 
those of the former American statement. The principle cannot, it is 
conceived, be successfully controverted. Were any third power per- 
mitted to interpose and seize that portion of territory, which the 
emancipated colony could not defend, all powers might exercise the 
same right, and thus the utmost confusion and injustice would follow. 
If Great Britain could seize Ruatan, France # might have taken pos- 
session of another portion of Honduras, and the United States of a 
part of San Salvador ; and thus a successful revolution, instead of 
proving a benefit to those who had asserted and maintained their 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 63 

independence, would give rise to a general scramble among the nations 
for a proportion of the spoil. 

But the British statement not only denies that her treaty with 
Mexico of the 26th of December, 1826, is a recognition of the prin- 
ciple asserted, but maintains that it proves the contrary. 

At the date of this treaty Great Britain was in possession, for special 
purposes, of the usufruct of Belize, which she had acquired from Spain 
under the treaty of 1786. Upon what other principle could she have 
solicited and obtained from Mexico an agreement that British subjects 
should not be disturbed in the enjoyment of this limited usufruct, un- 
less upon the principle that Mexico had inherited the sovereign rights 
of old Spain over the Belize settlement ? Had she then intended to 
claim this settlement in absolute sovereignty, she never would have 
sought and obtained from Mexico a continuance of her special license. 
The idea of an absolute owner asking a special permission to use his own 
property in a particular manner, from a person in whom he recognises 
no title, would be, to say the least, a novelty, if not an absurdity. 
Greatly to her credit and her good faith, however, Great Britain 
agreed to hold under Mexico in the very same manner she had held 
under old Spain, and thus clearly recognised the rights of Mexico. 

How does the British statement answer this argument ? It says 
that the treaty "simply stipulated that British subjects should not be 
worse off under Mexico independent, than under Mexico when a Span- 
ish province." And " it was natural, in recognising the independ- 
ence of Mexico, that Great Britain should make such a stipulation." 
It was certainly natural that she should do this, but only on the 
principle that Mexico might otherwise have asserted her rights as the 
successor of old Spain, and at any moment have terminated the license. 

The British statement observes, that, since the capture of the island 
in 1811, no attempt has been made by Honduras to recapture it; and 
that the commandant of Truxillo, when on two or three occasions com- 
plaints had beeji made to him for redress against the settlers of Kua- 
tan, hud referred them to Belize, telling them that the island was Brit- 
ish. But what inference can be drawn from these facts? Honduras, from 
her feebleness, has been compelled to submit, and to resort to the only 
remedy which the weak have against the powerful. Complaints and 
protestations against the act, which she has never ceased to make, 
have been her only resource. How ridiculous it would have been for 
her to have attempted to recapture this island from Great Britain ! 
And the commandant of Truxillo would, as a matter of course, refer 
complaints against the settlers in Kuatan to Great Britain for 
redress — the power in possession, and the only power in existence 
which could apply the remedy. 

If, therefore, thequestion dependinghadbeen between Great Britain 
and Honduras, and the point to be decided by an impartial umpire 
were, which of the two powers held the best title to the island, there 
could be but little doubt, it is conceived, what would be his decision. 
But, as before remarked, the question is not between these parties, but 
between Great Britain and the United States. Its decision does not 
depend upon the validity or invalidity of the British title, but whether 
Great Britain has bound herself by treaty with the United States not 



64 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

' l to occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion 
over" Ruatan. Under these circumstances, it was not the duty of the 
United States, as is alleged, at the conclusion of the convention of 
1850, to have formally contested the title of G-reat Britain to this 
island. Such a course could only have produced useless irritation. It 
was sufficient for them to know that Great Britain, being in the occu- 
pation of it, no matter by what title, had agreed to withdraw from 
this occupation. 

But "her Majesty's government cannot admit that an alteration in 
the internal form of government of these islands is a violation of the 
treaty, or affords a just cause of remonstrance to the United States." 
What are the facts of the case ? When the treaty was concluded, 
Great Britain was simply in the occupation of Ruatan, under the cap- 
ture made by Colonel McDonald. She had established no regular 
form of government over its few inhabitants, who, to say the least, 
were of a very heterogeneous character. She had then taken but the 
first step, and this in the face of the remonstrances of Honduras, to- 
wards the appropriation of the island. ISTo trouble could have been 
anticipated by the United States in regard to this island. No doubt 
could have been entertained but that Great Britain would promptly 
withdraw from it after the conclusion of the treaty. Her relation 
towards Ruatan at this time was merely that of a simple occupant. 
From this occupancy it was easy to retire, and the island would then 
have naturally reverted to Honduras. Instead, however, of taking 
one step backward, the government of Great Britain has since taken 
a stride forward, and has proceeded to establish a regular colonial gov- 
ernment over it. But this is not all. They have not confined them- 
selves to Ruatan alone, but have embraced within their colony five 
other Central American islands off the coast of the State of Honduras. 
One of these, Bonacea, says Bonnycastle, is an island about sixty 
miles in circumference, and is supposed to be the first island which 
Columbus discovered on his fourth voyage. It was ngt known, how- 
ever, in the United States that the British government had ever made 
claim to any of these five Central American islands previous to the 
proclamation announcing their colonization. Indeed, the British state- 
ment nowhere asserts that any of them had ever been occupied at any 
period by Great Britain before their incorporation with Ruatan and 
the establishment in 1851 of the colony of the " Bay islands." 

In this manner has the feeble State of Honduras been deprived of 
every valuable island along her coast, and this is now completely com- 
manded by the impending power of Great Britain. 

The government of the United States view the establishment of the 
colony of the " Bay islands" in a still more unfavorable light than 
they do the omission on the part of the British government to carry 
the provisions of the treaty into effect. They feel this to be the com- 
mission of a positive act in " palpable violation both of the letter 
and spirit of the Clayton and Bulwer convention." 

2. The Mosquito Protectorate. 
It does not seem necessary to add arguments to those of the former 
American statement for the purpose of proving that the Mosquito pro- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 65 

tectorate lias been abolished by the convention. This point has no- 
where been directly met throughout the British statement, by argu- 
ments drawn from the body of the treaty itself. These remarks shall, 
therefore, be confined to the topics presented in the British statement. 

In this discussion, as in the case of the Bay islands, it ought ever 
to be borne in mind that it is the true construction of the convention 
which is mainly to be ascertained and enforced, and not the historical 
circumstances and events which either preceded or followed its conclu- 
sion. 

The admission is noticed with satisfaction, that the United States 
had not, under the convention, acknowledged the existence of the 
British protectorate in Mosquito. This relieves the argument from 
much embarrassment, and the American negotiator from the imputation 
of having done an act which would have been condemned by his 
country. 

It is also repeatedly admitted, that although the British government 
(to employ its own language) " did not, by the treaty of 1850, abandon 
the right of G-reat Britain to protect the Mosquitos, yet it did intend 
to reduce and limit that right." Had the statement proceeded one 
step further, and specified in what manner and to what extent the 
British government intended to reduce and limit this right, the con- 
troversy on this point might then, for all practical purposes, have 
been settled. Why ? Because Lord Clarendon must have resorted 
to the convention itself for the limitations imposed on the protectorate ; 
and this would have informed him that it shall never be used for the 
purpose of " occupying" "the Mosquito coast," "or of assuming or 
exercising dominion over the same." Let G-reat Britain no longer 
employ it for these purposes ; let her cease to occupy this coast and 
exercise dominion over it, and although not all the convention re- 
quires, yet for every essential object this would prove sufficient. 

The British statement, strangely enough, first proceeds to discuss 
at considerable length, what it terms "the spirit" of the treaty, 
which, it says, " must always be inferred from the circumstances under 
which it takes place ;" and afterwards, in a very few lines, disposes of 
the great question of the true construction of its language. This en- 
tirely reverses the natural order" of things. Yattel informs us, in his 
chapter on " The Interpretation of Treaties," that " the first general 
maxim of interpretation is, that it is not allowable to interpret what 
has no need of interpretation. When a deed is worded in clear and 
precise terms, when its meaning is evident and leads to no absurd con- 
clusion, there can be no reason for refusing to admit the meaning 
which such deed naturally presents. To go elsewhere in search of 
conjectures in order to restrict or extend it, is but an attempt to elude 
it. If this dangerous method be once admitted, there will be no deed 
which it will not render useless." 

It was, therefore, incumbent upon the British statement first to 
prove that the language of the convention is obscure, (a most difficult 
task,) before it could properly resort to extraneous circumstances to 
explain its meaning. Nevertheless, following the order of the state- 
ment, a reply shall first be given to the circumstances adduced. 
5 A 



66 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

But, as preliminary to these, the statement branches off into a decla- 
ration ' ■ that Mr. Buchanan confounds the two conditions of a sover- 
eignty and a protectorate, and under this error treats the agreement 
' not to colonize, nor occupy, nor assume, nor exercise dominion over/ 
as including an agreement not to protect." Now admitting, for the 
sake of argument, that these words do not include ""an agreement not 
to protect;" they do at least limit this protection, so that it cannot be 
employed for the purpose of occupying or exercising .dominion over 
the Mosquito coast. Let this he granted, and the United States need 
ask but little more. 

No foundation, however, is to be found in Mr. Buchanan's state- 
ment for the criticism, that he had confounded two things so distinct 
in their nature as "a sovereignty and a protectorate." Indeed, he 
does not even use the word ' ' sovereignty ' ' in connexion with this 
topic, throughout his whole statement. On the contrary, he has 
carefully confined himself to the language of the convention itself, 
and employed only the words "occupy" "or assume or exercise 
dominion." 

The American government have never treated the protectorate 
claimed by Great Britain as one which could be recognised by public 
law. They well knew, from the savage and degraded character of 
the Mosquito Indians, that no treaty of protection could exist between 
her Britannic Majesty and the king of the Mosquitos, such as is 
recognised among civilized nations. Under such a treaty, the pro- 
tected power reserves to itself the right of administering its own 
government — a right which it was impossible for the Mosquitos to ex- 
ercise. 

This nominal protectorate must, therefore, from the nature of 
things, be an absolute submission of these Indians to the British 
government, which, in fact, it has ever been. For these reasons, the 
j American statement has everywhere treated Great Britain as in pos- 
session of the Mosquito coast, and in the exercise of dominion over 
\ it, in the same manner as though she were its undisputed owner ; and 
has contended that she is bound by the treaty to withdraw from this 
\possession and the exercise of this dominion. This is the substance. 
I All the rest is mere form. In this point of view, it is wholly imma- 
terial whether the relations of the Mosquito Indians towards Great 
Britain be called a protectorate, a submission, or by any other name. 
The great object of the convention, as understood by the government 
of the United States, is, that she should cease to occupy the Mosquito 
coast, no matter by what name, or under what claim it is retained. 

The leading — indeed, it may almost be said the only — circumstance 
adduced to illustrate "the spirit " of the convention, and to bear upon 
its construction, is a correspondence which took place at London, in 
November, 1849, between Mr. Lawrence and Lord Palmerston. It is 
thus sought to convert this preliminary correspondence, which oc- 
curred months before the convention was concluded, between different 
individuals, into the means of changing and limiting the meaning of 
the language afterwards employed by the actual negotiators. By 
such means, all agreements between private parties, and all treaties 
between sovereign States, might be annulled. When the final agree- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 67 

ment is once concluded, the preliminaries become useless. Like the 
scaffolding of a building, they are cast aside after the edifice has been 
erected. 

But even if such a process were legitimate, there is nothing in this 
correspondence which, so far from weakening, does not fortify the 
construction place'd upon the convention by the government of the 
United States. Mr. Lawrence first asks Lord Palmerston, as the 
primary object, " whether the British government intends to occupy 
or colonize Nicaragua, Costa Kica, the Mosquito coast, or any part ot 
Central America?" and then inquires " whether the British govern- 
ment will unite with the United States in guarantying the neutrality 
of a ship-canal, railway, or other communication, to be opened to the 
world and common to all nations ?" In reply, Lord Palmerston says, 
"that her Majesty's government do not intend to occupy or colonize 
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito coast, or any part of Central 
America;" and he also gave an equally satisfactory answer to the 
second inquiry of Mr. Lawrence. 

Now, what inference does the British statement draw from this 
language ? It is, that as the'correspondence, which is alleged to have 
been before the negotiators, does not refer to the Mosquito protectorate 
by name, therefore they must have intended that this should remain 
untouched by the treaty. But no inference can prevail against a 
positive fact. If the correspondence be silent in regard to the protec- 
torate, not so the convention. This expressly embraces it, and de- 
clares, "nor will either (of the parties) make use of any protection 
which either affords, or may afford, or any alliance which either has 
or may have, to or with any state or people, for the purpose (of erect- 
ing or maintaining any such fortifications or) of occupying, fortifying, 
or colonizing Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito coast, or any part 
of Central America, or of assuming or exercising dominion over the 
same." 

But even if the convention had not contained this express stipula- 
tion in regard to the Mosquito protectorate, and had simply provided 
for carrying into effect the intention expressed by Mr. Lawrence and 
Lord Palmerston, that neither of the parties should " occupy or colo- 
nize" "the Mosquito coast," this would, it is conceived, have been 
abundantly sufficient to bind Great Britain to withdraw from its occu- 
pation. In point of fact, it resulted from abundant caution alone that 
the clause just quoted from the convention was superadded, prohibit- 
ing Great Britain, whether under the name of a "protection" or 
"alliance," from " occupying " "the Mosquito coast," "or of assum- 
ing or exercising dominion over the same." 

In reference to the "literal meaning of the convention," which is 
certainly the main point, the British statement occupies but a few 
lines, and avoids any direct discussion of the language which it em- 
ploys. Indeed, the construction for which the government of the 
United States contends is substantially admitted. The statement, 
after quoting the provisions of the article, and asserting that it 
"clearly acknowledges the possibility of Great Britain or the United 
States affording protection to Mosquito, or any Central American 
State," concedes that whilst it was not the intention of the parties to 



68 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

prohibit or abolish, it was their intention " to limit and restrict such 
protectorate." Let there be no dispute about words on so grave a 
question. How did the convention limit and restrict this protectorate? 
It does this, as before observed, by prohibiting both parties from using 
" any protection which either affords" for the purpose of occupying 
or exercising dominion over the Mosquito coast. 

Throughout that portion of the argument arising out of the corres- 
pondence between Mr. Lawrence and Lord Palmerston, and indeed in 
other parts of it, the British statement has treated the joint protection 
of the two governments to the Nicaragua canal as though this were 
'the principal and almost the only feature of the convention. Such 
expressions as these are employed : " The mere protectorate of G-reat 
Britain, stripped of those attributes which affected the construction 
and the freedom of the proposed canal, was of small consequence to 
the United States." It is again treated as "a matter of indifference, 
so far as the canal is concerned, as to whether the port and town of 
San Juan are under the modified protectorate of G-reat Britain or un- 
der the government of Nicaragua." And again: " The practical dif- 
ference between Great Britain and the United States, with regard to 
the only mutually important portion of Mosquito — namely, that por- 
tion to which the construction and condition of the canal, which formed 
the origin and basis of the treaty of 1850, applies — is very small in- 
deed," &C, &C. 

These are but very partial and limited expositions of the motives 
which gave birth to the convention. It consecrated a policy far more 
extended and liberal. The convention was not confined to a single 
route, but embraced all the routes, whether for railroads or canals, 
throughout Central America. To employ its own language, it agreed 
to extend the protection of the two governments, ' ' by treaty stipula- 
tions, to any other practicable communications, whether by canal or 
railway, across the isthmus which connects North and South America, 
and especially to the inter-oceanic communications, should the same 
prove to be practicable, whether by canal or railway, whiGh are now 
proposed to be established by the way of Tehuantepec or Panama." 
Over all such routes, G-reat Britain and the United States have bound 
themselves to cast the Eegis of their protection, not for their own exclu- 
sive benefit, but for that of all the commercial nations of the earth. It 
was to avoid a)l jealousies between themselves, as well as those which 
might arise against either or both on the part of other nations, that 
they agreed, not merely that neither of them would erect fortifications 
on the single route of the San Juan, or in its neighborhood, but also, 
that neither would directly, or by virtue of any protectorate or alli- 
ance, " occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any do- 
minion over Nicaragua, Costa Eica, the Mosquito coast, or any part 
of Central America. ' ' Without this latter provision the former would 
have been vain. The prohibition of occupation was, therefore, co- 
extensive with the whole territory over which such canals or railroads 
might pass. 

Viewing the treaty in the light of its own extended and liberal pro- 
visions, it was a matter of some surprise that the British statement 
should have confined itself merely to a proposition for the two govern- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 69 

ments to enter into some arrangement whereby Great Britain may 
withdraw her protectorate from the port and harbor of G-reytown and 
the northern bank of the San Juan, thus leaving the residue of the 
Mosquito coast in its present condition. 

The government of the United States can become a party to no such 
arrangement. It stands upon the treaty which it has already con- 
cluded, firmly believing that, under this, Great Britain should, more 
than four years ago, have ceased to occupy or exercise dominion over 
the whole and every part of the Mosquito coast. It cannot, therefore, 
now enter into any new stipulation confined to the port of Greytown 
and the northern bank of the San Juan. Such an agreement could 
only lead to'fresh complications; and besides, would be a tacit ad- 
mission, which the United States cannot make, that the convention of 
1850 did not embrace the entire Mosquito coast, as well as every other 
portion of Central America. All that the government of the United 
States deem it proper to do under existing circumstances, is to persist 
in their efforts to induce Great Britain to withdraw from the entire 
coast. This object once accomplished, the treaty will then have its 
full and beneficent effect. The two powers can then proceed in har- 
mony to procure from the proper Central American States the estab- 
lishment of two free ports, one at each end of the canal, and success- 
fully to interpose their good offices to settle all existing disputes con- 
cerning boundaries between these States. It is manifest, however, 
that nothing of this kind can be accomplished — there can be no set- 
tlement of Central American affairs — whilst Great Britain shall persist 
in expressing a determination to remain in possession, under the name 
of a protectorate, of the whole coast of Nicaragua on the Caribbean sea. 

The Earl of Clarendon has been already informed that the govern- 
ment of the United States, from motives of humanity, are willing to 
unite with Great Britain in inducing the State of Nicaragua to assign 
a suitable portion of her territory for the occupation of the miserable 
remnant of the Mosquito tribe. This, however, upon the principle 
always recognised by Great Britain and the United States, in the 
treatment of their own Indians, that the ultimate dominion and ab- 
solute sovereignty belong to Nicaragua ; the Mosquitos having a 
right of mere occupancy, to be extinguished only by the State of 
Nicaragua. 

How unfortunate is the condition of Nicaragua ! Her title to all 
the territory embraced within the limits of the ancient province of 
that name is perfect. This she has acquired^ not only by a successful 
revolution, but she holds it under a solemn treaty with Spain. This ' 
treaty, concluded at Madrid on the 25th of July, 1850, recognises her 
sovereignty and independence, as well as her right u over the American 
territory situated between the Atlantic and Pacific seas," and " from 
sea to sea," " with its adjacent islands, known before under the de- 
nomination of province of Nicaragua, now republic of the same name." 
And yet her eastern coast is covered in its whole extent by the Mos- 
quito protectorate, and she is deprived of every outlet to the Carib- 
bean sea. Her port of San Juan has been seized by British troops, 
and that of Bluefields is the residence of the king of the Mosquitos, 
and the seat of the British dominion. 



70 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

An effort has "been made to assimilate the case of the British pro- 
tectorate over- the Mosquitos to that of Englishmen and Americans 
acting as ministers to the king of the Sandwich islands. But there 
is no parallel between the cases. The inhabitants of the Sandwich 
islands are not degraded savages, hut a Christian people ; and the 
government of their king has been recognised by the principal powers 
of the earth. He possesses the right to select foreigners for his 
ministers, as other sovereigns have frequently done ; but these, in the 
exercise of their functions, are totally independent of their own 
governments. 

It is alleged that a British consul or agent resides in Mosquito, who 
"may oftentimes be called upon to give his opinion or advice to the 
Mosquito government." But it is notorious — and from the degraded 
character of the Indians it cannot be otherwise — that the Mosquito 
government is exclusively the British government, exercised through 
the agency of this consul. It is through him that the British govern- 
. ment, in the name of this mere shadow of a king, captures the sea- 
ports of his neighbors by the employment of British forces alone, and 
exercises dominion over the entire so-called Mosquito coast. We have 
the nothingness of the Mosquito government and the king graphi- 
cally delineated by two eminent British statesmen of the present cabi- 
net. Truly this government is but a "fiction," whilst that of Great 
Britain is the substantial reality. 

The British statement, after denning the general distinction be- 
tween ""sovereignty " and " defence or protection," presents the con- 
sequences which might arise if an agreement ' ' not to occupy or exer- 
cise dominion over ' ' should prohibit either party from the perform- 
ance of certain enumerated acts, either for or against the Central 
American States. As these remarks are merely hypothetical, and do 
not seem to have any direct bearing upon the great question pending 
between the parties, it is deemed unnecessary to prolong this state- 
ment by a reply to them seriatim. They may be well or ill-founded ; 
but it is inconceivable in what manner they bear upon the simple 
question under the treaty, which is, shall Great Britain continue to 
occupy or exercise dominion over the Mosquito coast? not what acts 
she may perform, without a violation of the convention, after she shall 
have withdrawn from this occupation and the exercise of this dominion. 

Opinions are referred to, said to have' been expressed by Mr. Web- 
ster, concerning the convention ; but this is to be expounded accord- 
ing to its own text, and not by the mere incidental dicta of any man, 
no matter how eminent. 

And here all has been said which either directly or remotely touches 
the merits of the Mosquito question ; but as several other topics have 
been introduced, it would be improper to pass them over in silence. 

The statement declares, in reference to the Mosquito protectorate, 
that Great Britain ' ' will not enter into any explanation or defence of 
her conduct with respect to acts committed by her nearly forty years 
ago." Be it so. Such an explanation is not solicited by the United 
States. Still it is but just to observe that the British government 
first set the example of discussing their ancient right to the Mosquito 
protectorate ; and this is the only reason given in the former Ameri- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 71 

can statement for presenting " the views of the government of the 

United States on the subject." 

It is highly satisfactory, however, to observe that the British state- 
ment, instead of relying upon acts of the English on the Mosquito 
coast for centuries, limits these within a period of less than forty- 
years anterior to the present date. It is possible that the former 
American statement may have done some good in effecting this change, 
by causing Lord Clarendon to re-examine the treaties of 1783 and 
1786, and to refer to the history of the. time, in which additional 
proof has been found, not now necessary to be presented, in confirma- 
tion of the construction placed upon these treaties by the American 
government. 

It would still have been interesting, as an historical fact, to learn at 
what time, " nearly forty years ago," under what circumstances, and 
upon what terms, G-reat Britain again entered upon Mosquito, after 
having acknowledged the sovereignty of Spain over it in 1783 and 
1786, and surrendered it to that power. 

The British statement proceeds to allege that, since the peace of 
1815, old Spain had never raised any question with the British gov- 
ernment respecting the Mosquito protectorate. This is doubtless the 
case, because old Spain, from the intimate relations of friendship 
which had existed between the two governments since their treaty of 
alliance in 1809, could not have suspected that Great Britain was 
renewing her connexion with the Mosquitos ; and soon after "the acts 
committed by her nearly forty years ago/' the Spanish American rev- 
olutionary war commenced, which would naturally prevent the Span- 
ish government from bestowing its attention on a matter so compara- 
tively unimportant. 

The statement then denies that, by the British treaty with Mexico 
of 1826, Great Britain had recognised the right of the Central Ameri- 
can States, having achieved their independence, to the territories 
respectively included within their boundaries, as these had formerly 
existed under old Spain. As this point has been discussed in a former 
portion of the present statement, it is not now necessary to add any- 
thing to what has already been said. 

But, again, argues the British statement, even supposing that these 
States did inherit the right of old Spain, they made no remonstrance 
"for many years, after the protectorate of Great Britain over Mosquito 
had been a fact well known to them." . 

Surely the British government does not mean to contend that the 
omission of these feeble States, agitated in the first place by a revolu- 
tionary war, and afterwards by domestic dissensions, to make such 
remonstrances, would confer upon Great Britain the right to deprive 
them of their territory ? Besides, if it were necessary to go into the 
question, it might be proved that not many, but only a few years had 
elapsed before these States did remonstrate against the encroachments 
of Great Britain. 

The statement next asserts, that although the government of the 
United States, in 1842, knew of the existence of the British protector- 
ate, yet they did not complain of it until 1849. And from this what 
is to be inferred ? The United States had no right, under any treaty 



72 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

with Great Britain, to interfere in this question until April, 1850. 
But even if they had been directly interested in the territory, as 
Nicaragua was, is there any statute of limitations among nations, 
which, after six years of unlawful possession, deprives the true owner 
of his territorial rights ? 

Had the United States interfered in this question before the conclu- 
sion of the convention of 1.850, this could only have been done under 
the Monroe doctrine ; and then they would have been informed, as 
they have already been in the British statement, that this doctrine 
" can only be viewed as the dictum of the distinguished personage 
who delivered it ; but her Majesty's government cannot admit that 
doctrine as an international axiom which ought to regulate the con- 
duct of European states." 

But it must not be inferred from what has been said, that without 
this convention the government of the United States would not have 
eventually interfered, in obedience to the Monroe doctrine, to prevent, 
if possible, any portion of Central America from being permanently 
occupied or colonized by Great Britain. 

Neither is Lord Clarendon correct in supposing that this doctrine is 
but the mere "dictum" of its distinguished author. True, it has 
never been formally sanctioned by Congress ; but when first an- 
nounced, more than thirty years ago, it was hailed with enthusiastic 
approbation by the American people ; and since that period, different 
Presidents of the United States have repeated it in their messages to 
Congress, and always with urlmistakable indications of public appro- 
bation. 

If the occasion required, Mr. Buchanan would cheerfully undertake 
the task of justifying the wisdom and sound policy of the Monroe 
doctrine, in reference to the nations of Europe, as well as to those on 
the American continent. 

The British statement proceeds to enumerate several instances, com- 
mencing in November, 1847, extracted from the report of Mr. Clayton 
to the President, in July, 1850, in which no answers were returned by 
the government of the United States to appeals made by or on behalf 
of the State of Nicaragua for our interference to arrest the progress 
of British encroachments in Central America. 

Surely the war then pending between the United States and Mexico 
was sufficient to account for this temporary omission, without attribut- 
ing it to any indifference to the proceedings of Great Britain against 
Nicaragua. 

But even before this war was finally terminated by a treaty of peace, 
and after the capture of San Juan by the British forces, President Polk in 
April, 1848, gave a public pledge to the world, in strongterms, of his 
adherence to the Monroe doctrine, as he had already done in two pre- 
vious messages. Besides, in December, 1847, he asked an appropria- 
tion from Congress to enable him to send a minister to Guatemala; 
and this minister was accordingly despatched, with instructions which 
have been published, having distinctly in view the adoption of meas- 
ures necessary to give effect to this doctrine in Central America. 

The British statement, while admitting that, under the former prin- 
ciples and practice of European nations in regard to their treatment of 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 73 

the Indian races, the Mosquitos would have no right to rank as an inde- 
pendent state, yet indicates that Great Britain has changed her con- 
duct in this respect. As examples of great changes in other respects 
which have occurred in modern times, and as an excuse or justification 
for her own change, the British statement cites the suppression of the 
African slave-trade, and the establishment of the republic of Liberia. 
Neither of these would seem to be very wonderful. They both occur- 
red in the natural progress of events,, from the advance of civilization 
and the efforts of wise and benevolent men. But the British govern- 
ment will have performed a miracle if they can convert the debased 
and degraded race of Mosquito Indians, such as they have been de- 
scribed without contradiction in the American statement, into citizens 
or subjects of a really independent and sovereign nation. 

The British statement also declines to furnish "the grounds on 
which her Majesty's government made the capture of San* Juan de 
Nicaragua," and it is therefore scarcely necessary to pursue this 
branch of the subject. If it were, it would be easy to add proofs to 
those contained in the former American statement, that this was 
never a Mosquito port, in any sense, but always, together with the 
river San Juan, rightfully belonged to Spain, and afterwards to 
Nicaragua. Beference might be made to the report of Sir William 
Wise, the commander of the British ship-of-war Sophie, who visited 
the coast in 1820, and also to that of Mr. Orlando Koberts, who was 
carried as a prisoner up the San Juan in 1821. The latter describes 
the fort to which Captain Bonnycastle had referred, as then still 
mounting twelve large pieces of cannon, and containing accommoda- 
tions for one hundred men. The two chapters of Crowe's Central 
America, entitled " British Encroachments," might also be cited. Of 
these the author presents a striking history, from the time of the nu- 
merous and formidable but unsuccessful expedition of Great Britain 
against Spain in 1780, for the purpose of wresting from that power 
the port and river of San Juan, until they were finally captured from 
Nicaragua, in 1848, and then first became a part of the Mosquito pro- 
tectorate. 

3. Territory hetiveen the Sibun and the Sarstoon. 

The next portion of Central America which demands attention is 
the territory between the rivers Sibun and Sarstoon. Over this terri- 
tory the British settlers from Belize have been encroaching for several 
years ; but this, it was believed, without the authority or sanction of 
the British government. It now appears that Great Britain claims 
the territory, and declines to withdraw from its occupation, in obedi- 
ence to the convention. 

In regard to it the question need not be discussed, whether the con- 
vention embraces the entire isthmus, geographically known as Central 
America, or is confined to the five States which formerly composed the 
republic of that name. In either sense, the country between the Si- 
bun and the Sarstoon is included within Central America. This ter- 
ritory is a part of the province of Yera Paz, all of which constitutes 
an integral portion of the State of Guatemala. At the date of the 



74 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. , 

treaty of 1786, and until the Spanish, dominion terminated, the terri- 
tory south of the Sibun was included within the ancient kingdom of 
Guatemala, of which, with the exception of Chiapas, the confederated 
republic was composed. This, as a geographical fact, it is presumed 
will not be denied. 

The British statement contends that Mr. Clayton's declaration of 
the 4th July, 1850, not only embraces the settlement of Belize proper, 
under the treaty with Spain, but covers the territory south of it, be- 
tween the Sibun and the Sarstoon. 

The language employed by Mr. Clayton is, "the British settle- 
ment in Honduras. " Now, while such a settlement exists under the 
treaty of 1786, to which this language is precisely applicable, it would 
be a most strained construction to extend its application beyond the 
treaty limits, and make it protect the encroachments of British settlers 
over a Wger territory than that included within the settlement itself. 

Besides, Mr. Clayton states, in a subsequent part of the same docu- 
ment, that the convention of 1850 " was understood to apply to, and 
does include, all the Central American States of Guatemala, Hondu- 
ras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Kica, with their just limits 
and proper dependencies." 

Then, under this declaration, itself, the territory in question being 
within " the just limits" of the State of Guatemala, is expressly em- 
braced by the convention. 

Lord Clarendon considers himself " more warranted" in concluding 
that Mr. Clayton's statement applies to this territory, " from the fact 
that the United States had, in 1847, sent a consul to this settlement, 
which consul had received his exequatur from the British government — 
a circumstance (says his lordship) which constitutes a recognition, 
by the United States government, of the settlement of British Hon- 
duras under her Majesty., as it then existed." 

Now, it would be easy to prove that a consul is never sent to a 
whole settlement, or to an entire nation, but only to a single port, for 
the purpose of superintending the commerce at that port; and, there- 
fore, that no inference could be drawn from' the fact that the United 
States had sent a consul to the port of Belize, within the treaty limits, 
in favor of the claim of Great Britain to a country far beyond these 
limits. But this would not be sufficient for the occasion. Mr. Buch- 
anan emphatically denies the proposition that the appointment of a 
consul to Belize was any, even the slightest, recognition of the right 
of Great Britain to this very port. 

A consul is an officer appointed to reside in a foreign country for 
the purpose of facilitating, extending, and protecting the trade of his 
nation with that country. Such officers follow foreign trade, where- 
ever it may go, and afford ^protection to it, no matter whether th© 
ports to which they are sent be in the possession of the rightful owner 
or a usurper. The appointment of a consul recognises nothing mors 
than the de facto possession of the port by the power from which his 
exequatur is received. Such an appointment does not, in the slightest 
degree, interfere with the question of the right [dejure] of this power 
to be in possession. This has ever been, and this must ever be, the 
law and practice of modern commercial nations. If it were otherwise, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 75 

then, before the appointment of a consul, the government of a nation 
must first carefully inquire whether the party in possession be the 
rightful owner of the port ; and if they determine against its right, 
then their commerce with it must either cease altogether or remain 
without consular protection. This would be a novel doctrine to main- 
tain in the present age of commercial progress. 

The law and practice of nations have for a long period been clear 
on this point ; because consuls are mere commercial and not political 
agents. At the present time, even the appointment of a public min- 
ister is wisely considered as a recognition of nothing more than the 
de facto possession of the power to which he is accredited. 

The British statement claims the territory between the Sibun and 
the Sarstoon by right of conquest, and observes "that the treaty of 
1786 was put an end to by a subsequent state of war" with Spain, 
and ' ' that during that war the boundaries of the British settlement 
in question were enlarged," and that the subsequent treaty of peace 
not having revived the treaties of 1783 and 1786, Great Britain is en- 
titled to retain this territory. 

It may be observed that the statement does not mention at what 
period the boundaries of the British settlement were enlarged. If this 
took place, as it is believed it did, after the date of the treaty of alli- 
ance between Great Britain and Spain in 1809, which terminated the ■ 
war, then this argument falls to the ground. If before 1809, Great 
Britain_, when concluding this treaty, ought to have informed Spain 
that she intended to convert the encroachments of the settlers in Be- 
lize on Spanish territory into an absolute right. That she did not 
then intend to pursue such a course towards an ally in distress, is 
clear from her subsequent conduct. 

In 1814 Great Britain revived all her pre-existing commercial trea- 
ties with Spain ; and what is the privilege granted to her by the treaty 
of 1786, of cutting mahogany, logwood, and other dye-woods on Span- 
ish territory, thus enabling her to extend British commerce in these 
articles, but a commercial privilege? 

So far from the treaty of 1786 being " put an end to" by the war, 
its continued existence in 1817 and 1819 was recognised by acts of 
the British parliament ; these declare, in so many words, that Belize 
was "not within the territory and dominion of his Majesty," but 
was " merely a settlement for certain purposes, in the possession and 
under the protection of his Majesty." 

For the nature of this " settlement," and a knowledge of u these 
certain purposes," we can refer nowhere except to the treaties of 
1783 and 1786. 

In addition to these acts of parliament, it is proper here to repeat, 
that, so late as 1826, Great Britain has*, by her treaty with Mexico, 
acknowledged the continued existence and binding force of the treaty 
of 1786. 

But no matter what may be the nature of the British claim to the 
country between the Sibun and the Sarstoon, the observation already 
made in reference to the Bay islands and the Mosquito coast must be 
reiterated ; that the great question does not turn upon the validity of 
this claim previous to the convention of 1850, but upon the facts that 



76 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Great Britain has bound herself by this convention not to occupy any 
part of Central America, nor to exercise dominion over it ; and that 
the territory in question is within Central America, even under the 
most limited construction of these words. In regard to Belize proper, 
confined within its legitimate boundaries, under the treaties of 1783 
and 1786, and limited to the usufruct specified in these treaties, it is 
necessary to say but a few words. The government of the United 
States will not for the present insist upon the withdrawal of Great 
Britain from this settlement, provided all the other questions between 
the two governments concerning Central America can be amicably 
adjusted. It has been influenced to pursue this course partly by the 
declaration of Mr. Clayton on the 4th of July, 1850, but mainly in 
consequence of the extension of the license granted by Mexico to 
Great Britain under the treaty of 1826, which that republic has yet 
taken no steps to terminate. 

It is, however, distinctly to be understood, that the government of 
the United States acknowledge no claim of Great Britain within 
Belize, except the temporary "liberty of making use of the wood of 
the different kinds, the fruits and other produce in their natural 
state/' fully recognising that the former "Spanish sovereignty over 
the country " now belongs either to Guatemala or Mexico. 

In conclusion, the government of the United States most cordially 
and earnestly unite in the desire expressed by "her Majesty's govern- 
ment, not only to maintain the convention of 1850 intact, but to con- 
solidate and strengthen it by strengthening and consolidating the 
friendly relations which it was calculated to cement and perpetuate." 
Under these mutual feelings, it is deeply to be regretted that the two 
governments entertain opinions so widely different in regard to its 
true effect and meaning. 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 



Convention between the United States of America and her Britannic 
Majesty , for facilitating and protecting the construction of a sliip-canal 
between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and for other 'purposes. 
Concluded April 19, 1850; ratified by the United States May 23, 
1850; exchanged July 4, 1850; and proclaimed by the United States 
July 5, 1850. 

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
A PROCLAMATION. 

"Whereas a convention between the United States of America and 
her Britannic Majesty, for facilitating and protecting the construction 
of a ship-canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and for other 
purposes, was concluded and signed at Washington on the 19th day 
of April last, which convention is, word for word, as follows : 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 77 



Convention hetween the United States of America and her Britannic 

Majesty. 

The United States of America and her Britannic Majesty, being 
desirous of consolidating the relations of amity which so happily sub- 
sist between them, by setting forth and fixing in a convention their 
views and intentions with reference to any means of communication 
by ship-canal which may be constructed between the Atlantic and 
Pacific oceans, by the way of the river San Juan de Nicaragua, and 
either or both of the lakes of Nicaragua or Managua, to any port or 
place on the Pacific ocean : the President of the United States has 
conferred full power on John M. Clayton, Secretary of State of the 
United States ; and her Britannic Majesty on the Eight Honorable 
Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, a member of her Majesty's most Honorable 
Privy Council, Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Order of 
the Bath, and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of 
her Britannic Majesty to the United States for the aforesaid purpose : 
and the said plenipotentiaries having exchanged their full powers, 
which were found to be in proper form, have agreed to the following 
articles : 

Article I. 

The governments of the United States and Great Britain hereby 
declare, that neither the one nor the other will ever obtain or main- 
tain for itself any exclusive control over the said ship-canal ; agreeing 
that neither will ever erect or maintain any fortifications commanding 
the same or in the vicinity thereof, or occupy, or fortify, or colonize, 
or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Kica, the 
Mosquito coast, or any part of Central America ; nor will either make 
use of any protection which either affords or may afford, or any alli- 
ance which either has or may have to or with any State or people, for 
the purpose of erecting or maintaining any such fortifications, or of 
occupying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, Costa Bica, the Mos- 
quito coast, or any part of Central America, or of assuming or exer- 
cising dominion over the same ; nor will the United States or Great 
Britain take advantage of any intimacy, or use any alliance, connex- 
ion or influence that either may possess with any State or government 
through whose territory the said canal may pass, for the purpose of 
acquiring or holding, directly or indirectly, for the citizens or sub- 
jects of the one, any rights or advantages in regard to commerce or 
navigation through the said canal, which shall not be offered on the 
same terms to the citizens or subjects of the other. 

Article II. 

Vessels of the United States or Great Britain traversing the said 
canal shall, in case of war between the contracting parties, be 
exempted from blockade, detention, or capture by either of the belli- 
gerents ; and this provision shall extend to such a distance from the 



78 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

two ends of the said canal as may hereafter be found expedient to 
establish. 

Article III. 

In order to secure the construction of the said canal, the contracting 
parties engage, that if any such canal shall be undertaken upon fair 
and equitable terms by any parties having the authority of the local 
government or governments through whose territory the same may 
pass, then the persons employed in making the said canal, and their 
property used, or to be used, for that object, shall be protected, from 
the commencement of the said canal to its completion, by the govern- 
ments of the United States and Great Britain from unjust detention, 
confiscation, seizure, or any violence whatsoever. 

Article IY. 

The contracting parties will use whatever influence they respect- 
ively exercise with any State, States, or governments, possessing, or 
claiming to possess, any jurisdiction or right over the territory which 
the said canal shall traverse, or which shall be near the. waters appli- 
cable thereto, in order to induce such States or governments to facili- 
tate the construction of the said canal by every means in their power. 
And furthermore, the United States and Great Britain agree to use 
their good offices, wherever or however it may be most expedient, in 
order to procure the establishment of two free ports, one at each end 
of the said canal. 

Article V. 

The contracting parties further engage, that when the said canal 
shall have been completed, they will protect it from interruption, 
seizure, or unjust confiscation, and that they will guaranty the neu- 
trality thereof, so that the said canal may forever be open and free, 
and the capital invested therein secure. Nevertheless, the govern- 
ments of the United States-and Great Britain, in according their pro- 
tection to the construction of the said canal, and guarantying its neu- 
' trality and security when completed, always understand that this 
protection and guaranty are granted conditionally, and may be with- 
drawn by both governments, or either government, if both govern- 
ments, or either government, should deem that the persons or company 
undertaking or managing the same, adopt or establish such regula- 
tions concerning the traffic thereupon as are contrary to the spirit and 
intention of this convention, either by making unfair discriminations 
in favor of the commerce of one of the contracting parties over the 
commerce of the other, or by imposing oppressive exactions or unrea- 
sonable tolls upon passengers, vessels, goods, wares, merchandise, or 
other articles. Neither party, however, shall withdraw the aforesaid 
protection and guaranty without first giving six months' notice to the 
other. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 79 



Article VI. 

The contracting parties in this convention engage to invite every 
State with which both or either have friendly intercourse to enter into 
stipulations with them similar to those which they have entered into 
with each other, to the end that all other States may share in the 
honor and advantage of having contributed to a work of such general 
interest and importance as the canal herein contemplated. And the 
contracting parties likewise agree that each shall enter into treaty 
stipulations with such of the Central American States as they may 
deem advisable, for the purpose of more • effectually carrying out the 
great design of this convention, namely, that of constructing and 
maintaining the said canal as a ship communication between the two 
oceans for the benefit of mankind, on equal terms to all, and of pro- 
tecting the same ; and they also agree, that the good offices of either 
shall be employed, when requested by the other, in aiding and assist- 
ing the negotiation of such treaty stipulations ; and should any differ- 
ences arise as to right or property over the territory through which 
the said canal shall pass between the States or governments of Central 
America, an<l such differences should in any way impede or obstruct 
the execution of the said canal, the governments of the United States 
and Great Britain will use their good offices to settle such differences 
in the manner best suited to promote the interests of the said canal, 
and to strengthen the bonds of friendship and alliance which exist 
between the contending parties. 

Article VII. 

It being desirable that no time should be unnecessarily lost in com- 
mencing and constructing the said canal, the governments of the 
United States and Great Britain determine to give their support and 
encouragement to such persons or company as may first offer to com- 
mence the same, with the necessary capital, the consent of the local 
authorities, and on such principles as accord with the spirit and inten- 
tion of this convention ; and if any persons or company should 
already have, with any State through which the proposed ship-canal 
may pass, a contract for the construction of such a canal as that speci- 
fied in this convention, to the stipulations of which contract neither 
of the contracting parties in this convention have any just cause to ob- 
ject, and the said persons or company shall, moreover, have made 
preparations, and expended time, money, and trouble, on the faith of 
such contract, it is hereby agreed that such persons or company shall 
have a priority of claim, over every other person, persons or company, 
to the protection of the governments of the United States and Great 
Britain, and be allowed a year from the date of the exchange of the 
ratifications of this convention for concluding their arrangements, and 
presenting evidence of sufficient capital subscribed to accomplish the 
contemplated undertaking ; it being understood that if, at the expira- 
tion of the aforesaid period, such persons or company be not able to com- 
mence and carry out the proposed enterprise, then the governments of 



80 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

the United States and Great Britain shall be free to afford their pro- 
tection to any other persons or company that shall he prepared to 
commence and proceed with the construction of the canal in question. 

Article VIII. 

The governments of the United States and Great Britain having 
not only desired, in entering into this convention, to accomplish a par- 
ticular object, but also to establish a general principle, they hereby 
agree to extend their protection j by treaty stipulations, to any other 
practicable communications, whether by canal or railway, across the 
isthmus which connects North and South America, and especially to 
the inter-oceanic communications, should the same prove to be practi- 
cable, whether by canal or railway, which are now proposed to be 
established by the way of Tehuantepec or Panama. In granting, 
however, their joint protection to any such canals or railways as are 
by this article specified, it is always understood by the United States 
and Great Britain that the parties constructing or owning the same 
shall impose no other charges or conditions of traffic thereupon than 
the aforesaid governments shall approve of as just and equitable ; and 
that the same canals or railways, being open to the citizens and sub- 
jects of the United States and Great Britain on equal terms, shall 
also be open on like terms to the citizens and subjects of every other 
State which is willing to grant thereto such protection as the United 
States and Great Britain engage to afford. 

Article IX. 

The ratifications of this convention shall be exchanged at Wash- 
ington within six months from this day, or sooner if possible. 

In faith whereof, we, the respective plenipotentiaries, have signed 
this convention, and have hereunto affixed our seals. 

Done at Washington, the nineteenth day of April, anno Domini 
one thousand eight hundred and fifty. 

JOHN M. CLAYTON. [l. s.l 
HENBY LYTTON BULWEK. [l. s.] 

And whereas the said convention has been duly ratified on both 
parts, and the respective ratifications of the same were exchanged at 
Washington, on the fourth instant, by John M. Clayton, Secretary of 
State of the United States, and the Eight Honorable Sir Henry Lytton 
Bulwer, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of her 
Britannic Majesty, on the part of their respective governments : 

Now, therefore, be it known, that I, Zachary Taylor, President of 
the United States of America, have caused the said convention to be 
made public, to the end that the same, and every clause and article 
thereof, may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United 
States and the citizens thereof. 

j- 1 In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused 
L * '- 1 the seal of the United States to be affixed. 



(CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 81 

Done at the city of Washington, this fifth day of July, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and of the inde- 
pendence of the United States the seventy-fifth. 



By the President : 

J. M. Clayton, Secretary of State. 



Z. TAYLOR. 



DECLARATION. 

In proceeding to the exchange of the ratifications of the convention 
signed at Washington on the 19th of April, 1850, hetween her Britan- 
nic Majesty and the United States of America, relative to the estab- 
lishment of a communication by ship-canal between the Atlantic and 
Pacific oceans,, the undersigned, her Britannic Majesty's plenipoten- 
tiary, has received her Majesty's instructions to declare that her Ma- 
jesty does not understand the engagements of that convention to apply 
to her Majesty's settlement at Honduras, or to its dependencies. Her 
Majesty's ratification of the said convention is exchanged under the 
explicit declaration above mentioned. 

Done at Washington the 29th day of June, 1850. 

H. L. BULWER. 



memorandum. 

Department of State, 

Washington, July 5, 1850. 

, The within declaration of Sir H. L. Bulwer was received by me on 
the 29th day of June, 1850. In reply, I wrote him my note of the 
4th of July, acknowledging that I understood British Honduras was 
not embraced in the treaty of the 19 th day of April last ; but at the 
same time carefully declining to affirm or deny the British title in 
their settlement or its alleged dependencies. After signing my note 
last night, I delivered it to Sir Henry, and we immediately proceeded, 
without any further or other action, to exchange the ratifications of 
said treaty. The consent of the Senate to the declaration was not 
required, and the treaty was ratified as it stood when it was made. 

JOHN M. CLAYTON. 

N. B. — The rights of no Central American State have been compro- 
mised by the treaty or by any part of the negotiations. 

6 a 



82 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



Mr. Clayton to Sir H. L. Bulwer. 

Department of State, 

Washington, July 4, 1850. 

Sis : I Lave received the declaration you were instructed by your 
government to make to me respecting Honduras and its dependencies, 
a copy of which is hereto subjoined. 

The language of the first article of the convention concluded on the 
19th day of April last, between the United States and Great Britain, 
describing the country not to be occupied, &c, by either of the par- 
ties, was, as you know, twice approved by your government ; and it 
was neither understood by them, nor by either of us, (the negotiators,) 
to include the British settlement in Honduras, (commonly called Brit- 
ish Honduras, as distinct from the State of Honduras,) nor the small 
islands in the neighborhood of that settlement which may be known 
as its dependencies. To this settlement and these islands the treaty 
we negotiated was not intended by either of us to apply. The title 
to them it is now, and has been my intention throughout the whole 
negotiation, to leave as the treaty leaves it, without denying,, affirm- 
ing, or in any way meddling with the same, just as it stood previously. 
The chairman of the Committee on Foreign delations of the Senate, the 
Honorable William K. King, informs me that " the Senate perfectly 
understood that the treaty did not include British Honduras." It 
was understood to apply to, and does include, all the Central Ameri- 
can States of Guatemala, Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, and 
Costa Eica, with their just limits and proper dependencies. The dif- 
ficulty that now arises seems to spring from the use, in our convention, 
of the term " Central America," which we adopted because Viscount 
Palmerston had assented to it and used it as the proper term, we nat- 
urally supposing that, on this account, it would be satisfactory to your 
government ; but if your government now intend to delay the ex- 
change of ratifications until we shall have fixed the precise limits of 
Central America, we must defer further action until we have further 
information on both sides, to which, at present, we have no means of 
resort, and which it is certain we could not obtain before the term 
fixed for exchanging the ratifications would expire. It is not to be 
imagined that such is the object of your government, for not only 
would this course delay, but absolutely defeat the convention. 

Of course, no alteration could be made in the convention as it now 
stands, without referring the same to the Senate ; and I do not under- 
stand you as having authority to propose any alteration. But on 
some future occasion, a conventional article, clearly stating what are 
the limits of Central America, might become advisable. 

There is another matter, still more important, which the stipula- 
tions of the convention direct that we shall settle, but which you have 
no instructions now to determine ; and I desire you to invite the at- 
tention of your government to it— " the distance from the two ends 
of the canal' ' within which ' ' vessels of the United States or Great 
Britain, traversing the said canal, shall, in case of war between the 
contracting parties, be exempted from blockade, detention, or capture 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 83 

by either of the belligerents." The subject is one of deep interest, 
and I shall be happy to receive the views of your government in re- 
gard to it, as soon as it may be convenient for them to decide upon it. 

I renew to you, sir, the assurances of the distinguished considera- 
tion with which I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

JOHN M. CLAYTON. 

To the Right Hon. Sir Henry L. Bulwer, dc, dfcc, &c. 



CORRESPONDENCE 



IN BELATIOM TO 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS, 



THE CLAYTON AND BULWER CONVENTION: 



COMMUNICATED 

I 

Tfc> -THE SENATE BY THE PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES AT THE FIRST 
SESSION OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 



CORKESPONDENC: 



IN EELATION TO 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS, 



THE CONVENTION OF WASHINGTON 



APRIL 19, 1850. 



To the Senate of the United States : 

I transmit a report from the Secretary of State in answer to the 
resolution of the Senate of the 17th ultimo, requesting transcripts of 
certain correspondence and other papers touching the republics of 
Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the Mosquito Indians, and the convention 
between the United States and Great Britain of April 19, 1850. 

FRANKLIN PIERCE. 

Washington, February 14, 1856. 



Department oe State, 

Washington, February 14, 1856. 

The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the resolution of the 
Senate of the 17th ultimo, requesting the President, if compatible 
with the public interest, "to communicate to the Senate copies of any 
correspondence which took place between Daniel Webster, Secretary 
of State, and the British minister and the minister from. Costa Rica, 
in respect to a projet which was submitted to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, 
and the Mosquito Indians, and a copy of such projet with the instruc- 
tions given to Mr. Walsh, the special agent deputed by the United 
States to present that projet to the States of Nicaragua and Costa 
Rica, as also of such other correspondence as may have passed between 
him and the said Secretary of State on the subject ; as also copies of 
the correspondence with Mr. Kerr, charge d'affaires of the United 
States in Nicaragua, in reference thereto, together with any cor- 



88 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

responderice with the government of Nicaragua or its minister, in 
respect to the same projet ; and also copies of any letters not hereto- 
fore communicated, which may have been addressed to this govern- 
ment by the minister of Nicaragua or the minister of Great Britain, 
in reference to the construction and purport of the convention between 
the United States and Great Britain, signed April 19, 1850, and pro- 
claimed July 5, 1850, and of the replies made to them, if any, has 
the honor to lay before the President the papers mentioned in the sub- 
joined list. 

Eespectfully submitted. 

W. L. MARCY. 

To the Pkesident. 



List of papers accompanying the report of the Secretary of State to the 
President of the 14th February, 1856. 

Mr. Clayton to the Supreme Director of Nicaragua,, extract, June 17, 

1850. 
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua to the Secretary of State 

of the United States, (translation,) extract, September 10, 1850. 
Same to the same, (translation,) enclosures, September 28, 1850. 
Same to the same, (translation,) enclosures, November 13, 1850. 
Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster, (translation,) February 24, 1851. 
Same to the same, (translation,) February 26, 1851. 
Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster, March 28, 1851. 
Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina, March 31, 1851. 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster, (translation,) enclosures, May 7, 1851. 
Mr. Molina to the same, enclosures, May 8, 1851. 
Same to the same, May 8, 1851. 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster, (translation,) enclosure, June 3, 1851. 
Mr. Webster to Mr. Kerr, June 6, 1851. 
Same to" the same, June 6, 1851. 
Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina, June 10, 1851. 
Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster, enclosure, June 21, 1851. 
Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster, (translation,) October 30, 1851. 
Mr. Webster to Mr. Marcoleta, November 11, 1851. 
Same to Mr. Kerr, November 20, 1851. 
Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster, November 20, 1851. 
Mr Webster to Mr. Molina, November 25, 1851. 
Mr. Marcoietato Mr. Webster, (translation,) December 5, 1851. 
Same to the same, .(translation,) enclosure, March 5, 1852. 
Mr. Molina to Mr. ^ebster, April 6, 1852. 
Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina, April 8, 1852. 
Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster, April 9, 1852. 
Mr. Webster to Mr/ Molina, April 15, 1852. 
Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster, April 19, 1852. 

Mr. Marcoleta to the same, (translation,) enclosure, April 21, 1852. 
Mr. Webster to Mr. Walsh, extract, April 29, 1852. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 89 

Bases of a convention for the settlement of differences between Nica- 
ragua and Costa Kica, proposed by the United States and Great 
Britain, April 30, 1852. 

Mr. Webster to Mr. Kerr, April 30, 1852. 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster, (translation,) May 2, 1852. 

Mr. Hunter to Mr. Kerr, May 4, 1852. 

Same to Mr. Walsh, May 4, 1852. 

Mr. Hunter to Mr. Molina, May 5, 1852. 

Mr. Molina to Mr. Hunter, May 8, 1852. 

Mr. Hunter to Mr Kerr,Jliay 13, 1852. 

Mr. Hunter to Mr. Molina, May 19, 1852. 

Mr. Walsh to Mr. Webster, May 28, 1852. 

Same to the same, June 11, 1852. 

Same to the same, enclosures, June 25, 1852. 

Mr. Kerr to Mr. Webster, extracts and enclosures, July 28, 1852. 

Same to the same, extracts and enclosures, July 30, 1852. 

Mr. Molina to Mr. Hunter, August 6, 1852. 

Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina, August 12, 1852. 

Mr. Walsh to Mr. Webster, August 15, 1852. 

Mr. Kerr to Mr. Webster, extract and enclosures, September 2, 1852. 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Conrad, (translation,) October 16,- 1852. 

Mr. Kerr to Mr. Webster, extract, October 27, 1852. 

Mr. Conrad to Mr. Marcoleta, October 28, 1852. 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Conrad, (translation,) November 2, 1852. 

Mr. Molina to Mr. Everett, November 11, 1852. 

Mr. Molina's project, November 17, 1852. 

Mr. Walsh to Mr. Everett, extracts, November 19, 1852. 

Mr. Kerr to the Secretary of §tate, extract, January 13, 1853. 

Mr. Molina to Mr. Marcy, September 26, 1853. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Molina, October 14, 1853. 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Marcy, (translation,) December 5, 1853. 

Same to same, (translation,) December 6, 1853. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Molina, December 17, 1853. 

Same to Mr. Borland, extract, December 30, 1853. 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Marcy, (translation,) enclosure, January 24, 
1854. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr, Marcoleta, February 21, 1854. 



Mr. Clayton to the Supreme Director of Nicaragua. 

Department of State, 

Washington, June 17, 1850. 

Sir : I address this note directly to your excellency, because it is 
probable that before it shall have reached your capital Mr. Squier, 
the charge d'affaires of the United States to Guatemala, will have left 
Central America on his return to the United States. 

Immediately after the arrival ot Senor Eduardo Carcache, the Nica- 
raguan charge .d'affaires in this country, I earnestly entreated him 



90 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

to procure from his own government the most ample instructions to 
alter the treaty negotiated with your government by Mr. Squier, in 
such way as to him, upon full view of all the facts, should seem most 
conducive to the interests and prosperity of Nicaragua. Negotiations 
affecting the sovereignty of Nicaragua and her highest interests being 
in progress between the government of the United States and Great 
Britain, during the past year, have terminated in a treaty now rati- 
fied by both parties, of which I send you a copy, to the end that you 
may see the disposition of the people of the United States and their 
government in regard not only to Nicaragua but all Central America. 
This treaty has been acceded to by Great Britain, at the instance of 
the United States, and we are now, in pursuance of its provisions, 
making progress in obtaining the accession of all the great maritime 
states of Europe to the same treaty. It is not doubted that all the 
States of Central America will co-operate with us most heartily in 
the great objects we have in view, (and which caused us to enter into 
these guaranties,) to facilitate and aid by every means the con- 
struction of interoceanic communication across the isthmus which 
divides northern from southern America. Under these guaranties 
the Central American republics, united in one confederation and 
union for their common defence and happiness, will, it is ardently 
hoped, assume a rank among the nations of the earth, realizing the 
proudest anticipations of those who have made their brilliant destiny 
a study. The best wishes of this government towards Central America 
were conveyed to Nicaragua by our charge d'affaires at G-uatemala. 
Proofs of friendship, more solid than any professions, are conveyed 
to you in the enclosed treaty. In return for this, we expect the confi- 
dence of yours, as well as of every other Central American State. 
If that confidence be withheld, all our efforts in behalf of your coun- 
try will be fruitless. It is impossible for us to communicate with a 
minister at Leon. Experience has proved that my communications 
to Mr. Squier are addressed to him in vain, so defective are your 
mails and means of communication with San Juan de Nicaragua. 
The President has given him leave of absence, at his own request, 
and in a few days he will return to the United States. Senor Carcache 
has no instructions except to exchange the ratifications of the treaty 
negotiated by your government with Mr. Squier, which is so defective 
as to its duration and its grants of exclusive rights to the United 
States, not desired by us, that it cannot be ratified precisely as it 
stands, unless we repudiate the treaty with Great Britain. It is in- 
dispensable that the two treaties should in all respects conform with 
each other, and to this end Senor Carcache, or some other suitable 
person, should be immediately invested by your government with full 
poivers to make a neiv treaty, or change tlie old one, as I have described. 
More than four months have elapsed since Senor Carcache was fully 
informed of this. He states to me that he has written to you for new 
and more ample instructions, and that he has received nothing in 
reply. In consequence of this misfortune, the interests of Nicaragua 
are endangered at this critical period. If ample powers are not 
speedily given to some person to negotiate in your behalf, the Senate 
of the United States, whose ratification is necessary to the treaty 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 91 

with your government, may even be compelled to drop it. Although 
I offered to negotiate with Senor Carcache, with the express under- 
standing that his government should be bound by nothing in our treaty 
which it should not hereafter approve, yet he utterly refused to com- 
mence any negotiation without instructions. 

******** 



Accept, sir, the assurances, &c. 

To the Supreme Director 

Of the State of Nicaragua. 



JOHN M. CLAYTON. 



[Extract from Translation.] 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs for Nicaragua to the Secretary of State 

of the United States. 

Department of Foreign Kelations, 

Leon de Nicaragua, September 10, 1850. 

Sir : The important despatch received from your excellency, dated 
the 17th of last June, is another of those documents hearing incon- 
testable evidence of the very noble and fraternal sentiments which 
animate the respectable government of the United States in its inter- 
course with the government of this State relative to those sacred rights 
and vital interests which link the destiny of the latter, with the other 
sections of the continent. 

Your excellency is in possession of authentic data showing the 
ardent desire of this supreme government to establish such inter- 
course, and the efforts it has made to cultivate the same for the 
mutual benefit of the two countries ; but although it has availed itself 
of all the means of communication which presented themselves, 
yet, owing to the obstacles thrown in the way of all regular corres- 
pondence by those who have usurped the occupation of the port of San 
Juan since the first day of January, 1848, this intercourse has not 
been so frequent or so punctual as the importance of the matters at 
issue required. Now, however, that your excellency has been pleased 
to select a safe channel of communication, in addressing the above- 
mentioned despatch to this cabinet, the Supreme Director, having well 
considered its contents, has agreed to reply to your excellency in the 
following terms : 

That having experienced the most unbounded satisfaction, and en- 
tertaining a profound sense of gratitude for the friendly offices of your 
excellency's government relative to the great question which has beea 
agitated with England, he begs to tender, from this moment, with all 
the earnestness of a true American heart, the thanks which are due 
for the offices aforesaid, and also for the transmission by your excel- 
lency of the treaty concluded in Washington on the 19th of last April, 
and for the progress your excellency's government has made in pro- 
curing the assent of all the principal maritime powers of Europe to 
said treaty. Your excellency has good reason to hope for the co- 
operation of the Central American States. 



92 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

The accomplishment of this interesting object will be greatly facili- 
tated by the simultaneous effort now making on the part of the States 
of Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua to establish a national union 
in Central America, in spite of the opposition offered by Guatemala 
and Costa Eica to the realization of -such a scheme. 

With regard to the State of Nicaragua, which is immediately inter- 
ested in the question pending with England, it wishes to make 
known from this moment, to the high government of your excellency, 
that it does not entertain the smallest doubt of the just and benevolent 
intentions both of said government and of the heroic people of the 
United States, and that it anticipates from the treaty of the 19th April 
all those great results which your excellency has been pleased to prog- 
nosticate in regard to the future sovereignty and aggrandizement of 
this country. 

To the Most Excellent the Secretary of Foreign Affairs 

Of the supreme government of the republic of North America, 



[Translation.] 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua to the Secretary of State* 

of the United States, 

Department of Foreign Eelations, 

Leon, September 28, 1850, 
- Sir : I have the honor of transmitting to your excellency copies of 
the notes which have been addressed to this department by Mr Frede- 
rick Chatfield, her Britannic Majesty's consul general in Central 
America, under the respective dates of August the 15th and the 2d, 
instant, and of the replies which have been sent to him by this de- 
partment, on the 16th and 23d of the present month. 

From these documents your excellency will perceive, that notwith- 
standing the treaty of Washington of last April, the 19th, Mr. Chat- 
field persists in maintaining the integrity of the Mosquito nation, 
resting his argument upon the recognition which he supposes the 
government of the United States to have made of her independence, 
as well as the fact that the aforesaid treaty was concluded with Great 
Britain, adding, by way of strengthening his argument, that the 
government of the French republic has already acceded to the same. 

Although Nicaragua has not caused the assertion of her rights to 
be included in the treaty of the 19th of April, she has seen, with 
very great satisfaction, a vindication of the same therein, as a kind of 
explanation and recognition of those rights on the part of the con- 
tracting parties ; and the supreme director, who saw in the consul's 
notes alluded to above a studied evasion, with a view of continuing to 
usurp the coast and the northern ports of the State, has, ^without a 
moment's hesitation, decided upon forwarding those documents to your 
excellency, for the purpose of subserving the general interests of your 
country and of this State. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 93 

It affords me pleasure to renew to your excellency my protestations 
of regard, with which I am your devoted servant, 

S. SALINAS. 
The Most Excellent the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 

Of the government of the United States of North America. 



[Translation of Translation. ] 

Her Britannic Majesty's Legation at Guatemala, 

August 16, 1850. 

Sir : Mr. Vice Consul Foster has informed me of the steps which 
he has deemed it his duty to take in consequence of the losses recently 
experienced hy Messrs. Beschor & Co., of Granada, through acts of 
public violence, and for the recovery of a debt contracted some time 
since by the government of Nicaragua with the aforesaid Messrs Bes- 
chor & Co._, for the use of certain small vessels which had been forci- 
bly taken possession of by armed men. 

In replying to Mr. Foster, under the respective dates of the 19th 
and 20th of July last, the government of Nicaragua has made use of 
some expressions, in regard to the Mosquito coast and the authorities 
thereof, which, owing to the desire I entertain, and have constantly 
manifested, to see the government of Nicaragua free from the embar- 
rassments by which it is surrounded, in consequence of its not under- 
standing or of concealing from itself its true position in regard to the, 
Mosquito question, have induced me to offer a few remarks on the 
subject. 

I do not wish to make any comments upon the uncourteous and ill- 
tempered expressions which the government of Nicaragua, unthink- 
ingly, perhaps, has used, in speaking of the British government and 
its agents, in the course of the controversy about the Mosquito question, 
as I am disposed to attribute a great portion of this irritability and 
want of courtesy to error and the suggestions of evil counsellors ; but 
I cannot forbear recommending to your government, in the most 
friendly spirit, the propriety of viewing a question, the final arrange- 
ment of which is demanded by the interests of the country, in a 
manner more worthy of statesmen, and of treating this subject without 
any reference to those false relations now existing, and those exagge- 
rated offers on the part of persons who are interested in fomenting ill 
feelings between Nicaragua and Great Britain. 

Instead of persisting in the maintenance of fancied rights to the 
coast of Mosquito, and refusing to listen to reason, Nicaragua would 
much more consult her interests by coming to a satisfactory arrange- 
ment with England upon this question, as it will not be much longer 
of any avail to resist the settlement of it. 

The government of Nicaragua cannot be ignorant of the determi- 
nation of her Britannic Majesty's government in regard to the 
Mosquito question, Viscount Palmerston having declared, in the most 
explicit language, to the charge d'affaires of Nicaragua at the British 



94 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

court, in his communication of the 15th of last April, the impossibil- 
' ity of acceding to the pretensions of Nicaragua. 

With regard to the treaty of Washington of the 19th of April, 
upon which I am told your government relies with undue confidence, 
that treaty recognises distinctly, contrary to the interpretation evi- 
dently put upon it by Nicaragua, the existence of the Mosquito coast, 
setting thus aside all rights to the sovereignty of that country with 
which Nicaragua imagines herself to be invested. 

The true policy for Nicaragua to pursue is to undeceive herself in 
regard to her pretensions to the Mosquito country, and to be more 
cautious how she listens to protestations and assurances on the part of 
pretended friends. Nicaragua would do well to come to an under- 
standing, without delay, with Great Britain, upon wkose relations 
depend not only the commerce and welfare of the State, but the prob- 
ability of any positive measures being adopted for establishing an 
interoceanic communication across her territory, since London is the 
only place where sufficient capital and spirit of enterprise can lie 
found for carrying out a project of such magnitude. 

In conclusion, I beg to repeat, what I have frequently before stated, 
that her. Britannic Majesty's government is actuated by the best 
wishes to serve Nicaragua, and to aid her in acquiring a proper posi- 
tion in the family of independent nations. 
I have the honor, &c. , 

FKEDEBICK CHATFIELD. 

The Minister of Foreign Eelations 

Of the Supreme Government of Nicaragua. 

Leon, September 28, 1850. 

Tue copy : 
[seal.] S. SALINAS. 



[Translation.] 

Government House, 

Leon, September 16, 1850. 

The manner in which the British vice-consul, Mr. John Foster, ad- 
dressed himself to this government in the name of Messrs. Beschor & 
Company, taking the existence of a Mosquito kingdom for granted, 
called forth the replies of the 19th and 20th of July, to which you re- 
fer in your note of the 16th of last month, which I am instructed to 
answer as follows. 

I must assure you that it was never contemplated by my govern- 
ment to say anything offensive to the dignity of that of her Britannic 
Majesty, and that the language or sentiments to which allusion is 
made in your note must be understood as applying solely to what 
concerns the vindication of the rights of Nicaragua ; and you must 
feel assured that, if we could be biased by the ancientness of the 
relations that have existed between British subjects and the sons of 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 95 

Nicaragua, by the identity of those principles of civilization which 
prevail in both countries, by the interest which England has mani- 
fested in all that relates to American independence, and the freedom 
of the commerce of the world, upon which the best hopes of Nicaragua 
depend ; if, I say again, we could be biased by these pre-existing 
circumstances, Great Britain and this same State would be united in 
bonds of the most perfect harmony. But you will also permit me to 
say, that if these pre-existing auspicious relations have been neutralized 
by circumstances which are driving us to the painful extremes of hos- 
tility, it is all owing to an hypothetical expression — a word, and that 
word is, the kingdom of Mosquito. 

My government being free from those pernicious influences which 
you suppose it to be actuated by, and relying upon the justice of the 
cause of Nicaragua, even though the Washington treaty of the 19th 
of last April were not in existence, is determined to maintain it, 
without, however, ceasing to hope that the obstacles which have 
engendered the present temporary disagreement between G-reat Britain- 
and Nicaragua will be promptly and happily smoothed away. 

This favorable disposition on the part of my government will con- 
vince you how much it values the generous sentiments which, you 
assure me, the government of Great Britain entertains towards Nica- 
ragua. 

Be pleased, in the meanwhile, to accept the assurances of respect 
and esteem with which I am your obedient servant, 

S. SALINAS. 

Mr. Frederick Chateield, 

Her Britannic Majesty's consul in Central America, and 

charge d'affaires near the governments of Guatemala and 
Costa Rica. 

Leon, September 28, 1850. 

True copy : 

[seal.] S. SALINAS. 



[Translation of Translation.] 

Legation of Her Britannic Majesty, 

Guatemala, September 2, 1850. 

Sir : I have received a communication from Mr. Vice Consul Foster, 
dated the 12th of last month, with an enclosed copy of a note which 
you addressed him on the 2d of the same month, in your capacity of 
minister of foreign relations for the government of Nicaragua, relative 
to certain custom-house regulations now in force at G-reytown, (San 
Juan.) 

It is much to be regretted that the minister of Nicaragua should, 
in his allusions to the government of her Britannic Majesty, make ' 
use of offensive and unmerited language, since it would be more proper 
for Nicaragua, instead of accusing Great Britain of injustice and usurp- 



96 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

ation, to consider calmly the arguments and proofs which have been 
addressed by her Majesty's government to Don Francisco Castillon 
and Senor Marcoleta, the diplomatic agents of the government of that 
State in London, in refusing to acknowledge the right of sovereignty 
over the Mosquito territory which Nicaragua alleges to belong to her. 
The government of her Majesty the Queen has already shown that 
it is fully justified in maintaining the independence of Mosquito ; and 
although it has been asserted by Nicaragua that it is only lately, and 
since > the independence of Nicaragua, that Great Britain has thought 
of upholding tiie rights of the Mosquitos, the fact is, that Great 
Britain has never ceased to maintain the rights of the king of that 
coast, and to afford him protection, since the reign of Charles II of 
England, two hundre 1 years ago. 

As the minister of Is icaragua quotes the 4th article of the conven- 
tion concluded between Captain Lock and the government of Nicaragua 
on the 7th of March; 1848, it is proper to observe that her Majesty's 
government has called the attention of Mr. Marcoleta to the 3d and 
4th articles of said convention, complaining of the violation of the 
same on the part of Nicaragua. In those articles Nicaragua promises 
solemnly not to disturb the peaceful inhabitants of the port of San 
Juan, now called Grey town, and that no custom-house should be 
established in the neighborhood of that port ; and while the govern- 
ment of Nicaragua was proposing to carry into effect a certain nego- 
tiation, in conformity with the convention mentioned above, that same 
government entered into a contract with various companies composed 
of citizens of the United States, not only binding them to build a 
custom-house in Grey town, but even offering to make that place a 
free port, and to divide a certain portion of the lands adjoining among 
citizens of the United States for purposes of colonization. 

These proceedings in regard to Greytown and the Mosquito terri- 
tory are by no means in accordance with the obligations which the 
government of Nicaragua has contracted with the government of her 
Britannic Majesty. 

With regard to the accusation which the minister of Nicaragua has 
brought against the custom-house officers of Greytown, charging 
them with " scandalous depredations" upon merchants of Nicaragua, 
I must remind the minister of Nicaragua that, by his own confession, 
the agent of Mr. Carcache had failed to comply with the regulations 
of the port in regard to custom-house duties ; and I can assure him 
that it is only those persons who seek to evade the law, that are ex- 
posed to the annoyances alluded to by him. 

If the government of Nicaragua, consulting the interests of its own 
commerce and revenue, had listened to my overtures, the object of 
which was to promote an amicable understanding about the pending 
questions, no difficulties would now exist. I am well aware that 
Nicaragua has allowed herself to be carried away by false promises 
and vain hopes of assistance and support against England, relative to 
the Mosquito question ; but these hopes could no longer have been 
entertained by persons of sound judgment, after the settling and sign- 
ing of the treaty of Washington, to which France has acceded. This 
treaty is an unquestionable authority upon this point, and so far from 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 97 

favoring the views of Nicaragua, said treaty declares that North 
America recognises the existence of Mosquito, acknowledging it to be 
as perfectly distinct a state or country, with respect to Nicaragua, as 
Costa Eica or any other portion of Central America. 

I have thus had the honor of replying to the note which the gov- 
ernment of Nicaragua has thought proper to address, through you, to 
the British vice consul, on the 2d of last August ; there only remain- 
ing for me to reiterate, in conclusion, the good wishes and friendly^feel- 
ings by which I am actuated in endeavoring, in the name of her 
Britannic Majesty's government, to effect an amicable arrangement 
with the government of Nicaragua, which may be the means of estab- 
lishing the relations of the two countries upon a solid and satisfactory 
foundation. 

I have the honor, &c. , 

FEEDEEICK CHATFIELD. 

Don Sebastian Salinas, 

Minister of Foreign Relations for the Government of Nicaragua. 

Leon, September 28, 1850. 
True copy : 
[l. s.] SALINAS. 



[Translation.] 

Government House, 

Leon, September 23, 1850. 

Having acquainted the supreme director of this State with the con- 
tents of your note of the 2d instant, in which notice is taken of that 
which I addressed to Mr. Vice Consul Don Juan Foster, on the 2d of 
last August, relative to certain custom-house regulations now in force 
in the port of San Juan de Nicaragua, that high functionary has di- 
rected me to say to you in reply : That this government, in claiming 
what is due to the State, and in defending the rights of the same, as 
it is bound in duty to do, from the territorial usurpations, the in- 
juries, and vexations which have been inflicted, and are still being 
inflicted upon us by British agents and British subjects, had not, and 
never can have, any intention of infringing upon those considerations 
of respect which are due to all governments ; and that whatever may 
be the spirit of the treaty of the 19th of April of the present year, 
between the United States and England, it cannot have deprived 
Nicaragua of her unquestionable rights over the territory called Mos- 
quito and the port of San Juan, because the State does not allow the 
justice of its cause to depend upon that convention, which simply re- 
cognises the same and no more, being satisfied with the fundamental 
principles so frequently asserted in its favor ; which principles, in pro- 
portion as they received the support and approbation of impartial na- 
tions, became obnoxious to her Britannic Majesty's government and 
its agents, neither of whom would examine them with that calm- 
ness of temper which reason requires, and which Nicaragua could 
7 A 



98 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

liave wished, out of regard for those friendly relations and good un- 
derstanding which she is anxious to cultivate and maintain in her in- 
tercourse with the cahinet of St. James. 

With regard to the* negotiations which you say you are disposed 
to forward, my government shall always be found ready to act with 
the utmost deference in the matter, whenever the government of her 
Britannic Majesty shall have recognised the rights of Nicaragua to the 
Mosquito territory, and that the port of San Juan, which has been 
occupied since the 1st of January, 1848, shall have been vacated. 

I have the honor to renew to you my expressions of regard, and to 
remain your obedient, humble servant, 

S. SALINAS. 
Mr. Frederick Chatfield, 

Consul General of her Britannic Majesty 
in Central America, and Charge d' Affaires 
near the Governments of Guatemala and Costa Rica, 

Leon, September 28, 185 
True copy : 
[l. s:] SALINAS. 



[Translation.] 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua to the Secretary of State 

of the United States. 

Government House, 

Leon, November 13, 1850; 

On the 10th of September of the present year, a despatch was ad- 
dressed to your excellency, by which this government, in reply to 
your excellency's communication of the 17th of June, states that the 
intentions of your government in favor of the independence and sov- 
ereignty of Nicaragua, declared in its treaty of the 19th of April last, 
concluded with England, have been set at naught by the latter' s in- 
sisting on the armed protectorate of the unrecognised Mosquito na- 
tion and its fictitious king — seeing that at the date of the aforesaid 
reply there had already been introduced in the port of San Juan del 
Norte an armed force, belonging to the service of her Britannic 
Majesty ; and there was continued the usurpation of this, the most 
precious part of the territory of this State,, and the most important to 
the world for carrying out the great undertaking of the inter-oceanic 
communication, contracted for on the 27th of August, 1849, with the 
Atlantic-Pacific Canal Company of the United States. 

But if, up to the date above mentioned, any doubt could have been 
entertained as to the views of the English government, it is now evi- 
dent that those views are directed towards re-establishing the same 
order of things which existed previous to the aforesaid treaty — the 
same Mosquito nation, the same savage king; and the same armed pro- 
tection of her Britannic Majesty. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 99 

The commanding officer of the English squadron in the Antilles 
has declared, by order of her Britannic Majesty, through a commu- 
nication dated the 14th of September of this same year, transmitted 
by the commander of the forces which arrived at the port aforesaid, 
to the British agent residing at Bealejo, and by the latter to the gov- 
ernment of Nicaragua, that as a proof that the treaty of the 19th of 
April allows the armed protectorate of her Britannic Majesty, in favor 
of the imaginary Mosquito kingdom, to be in existence, he has taken 
military possession of the port of San Juan de Nicaragua and its vi- 
cinity, for the purpose of securing the supposed territorial rights of 
the pretended king, in regard to the inter-oceanic communication ; 
promising to facilitate the course of the same through the Mosquito 
territory, as your excellency will see by the same declaration, of which ' 
I enclose a full and authorized copy, together with the reply given by 
this government, an authenticated copy of which is likewise subjoined. 

So that the practical interpretation given by the English govern- 
ment to the treaty of the 19th of April, so far from respecting the 
sovereignty of this country over the port of San Juan del Norte, seeks 
to convert that very treaty into a title which England has never pos- 
sessed, in order that the savage tribe of Mosquitos may be considered 
as a monarchical nation, and as having rights over the northern coast 
and the port of San Juan Nicaragua ; maintaining the usurpation 
of these territories by new outrages, by means of force and violence, 
like those which she committed previous to the aforesaid treaty. 

In the contract for the inter-oceanic communication entered into by 
this government with the aforesaid company of the United States, the 
port of San Juan, or any other point on the northern coast, were ex- 
pressly calculated upon as the property and possessions of Nicaragua; 
this contract was recognised by Great Britain in the treaty of the 19th of 
April, article 7th, and the State shall never betray the rights and 
interests of the continent by recognising a savage tribe as a sovereign 
people, with a king and foreign relations. 

Nor will the United States recognise this Mosquito nation, nor the 
intervention of foreign powers in the international affairs of this con- 
tinent. The solemn declarations of that high government, its con- 
duct in similar cases, and the course pursued by its minister plenipo- 
tentiary the M. E. George Squier, disavow the pretended sovereignty 
of savage tribes, as irreconcilable with territorial integrity, with the 
paramount dominion and with the independence of every nation 
which has, at any point of its territory, these small quantities of 
savages. 

This absurdity of forming savage states within the territory of civil- 
ized states is rendered much more offensive, unjust, and self-evident, 
when it is sought to do so by force, and when the great treaty which 
secures the rights of Nicaragua, and even the whole of Central America, 
against the usurpations of the English government, is held for noth- 
ing, and is even considered as a good excuse for pursuing the same 
system of barbarous exactions. 

As all the arrangements of this State with the worthy government 
of the United States must rest upon the basis of the sovereignty of Nica- 
ragua and the integrity of her territory, intended for the enterprise of 



100 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFEAIRS. 

the inter-oceanic communication, "by the contract alluded to, this gov- 
ernment has authorized Sr. D. Jose cle Marcoleta, in order that, in 
his capacity of minister plenipotentiary of Nicaragua near the United 
States, he may conclude such treaties as may tend to the safety and 
prosperity of the two countries, as I informed your excellency under 
date of the 3d of the same month of Octoher. 

But as it might happen that Mr. Marcoleta might he prevented by 
circumstances from pursuing his journey to that capital, while the 
English government, instead of restoring the port of San Juan and the 
Mosquito coast to this State, has lately increased the force with, which 
it took military possession of said port and its vicinity, so much so 
that an English company has concluded with the agent of Costa Eica, 
Sr. Felipe Molina, a contract of inter-oceanic communication, by the 
port and river of San Juan de Nicaragua, the government of this State 
has determined to address the present despatch to your excellency in 
order that, in view of the facts and documents to which it refers, the 
government of that respected republic may determine what is proper, 
in regard to what concerns the interests of the nation which it so hap- 
pily rules, according to the interpretation which the contracting 
parties have given to the treaty of the 19th of April ; seeing that, at all 
events, Nicaragua maintains and sustains her rights to the coast called 
Mosquito, to the port of San Juan and its vicinity, and is ready to 
enter into arrangements of harmony and good understanding, not 
only with the government of the American nation, but also with all 
the governments of the other nations of Europe, and even with 
England herself, the integrity of her territory being first recognised ; 
I having the satisfaction to intimate to your excellency that such ar- 
rangements shall be based on principles of philanthropy and common 
advantage to the commercial world. 

I have the honor to renew to your excellency my sentiments of re- 
gard and respect, and to subscribe myself your excellency's obedient 
and humble servant, 

SEBASTIAN SALINAS. 

The Minister op Foreign Eelations 

Of the Supreme Government of North America. 



[Translation.] 

British Vice Consulate, 
Bealejo, October 12, 1850. 

Sir : I have the honor to inform you that I have received a note 
from Captain Eobert Smart, of her Britannic Majesty's ship " Inde- 
fatigable," and formerly in command of the protective force, dated 
Greytown, the 14th of September last, to which point he has been 
sent by the commanding officer of her Majesty's naval forces in Ja- 
maica. 

The orders of Captain Smart were that the tenor of his instructions 
might be communicated to the government of Nicaragua. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 101 

" The treaty lately concluded at Washington between G-reat Brit- 
ain and the United States, for the construction of a maritime canal 
between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, having been perversely inter- 
preted by a certain party as a surrender of the protection hitherto 
afforded by the former to the Mosquito nation, her Majesty's govern- 
ment has deemed it proper to station said force at G-reytown and its 
vicinity, for the purpose of proving that such surrender was never in- 
tended ; and whilst it adopts this measure for the purpose of securing 
the rights of the Mosquito king, every facility will be afforded to the 
parties pledged to carry into effect the canal in its transit through the 
territory of the latter, in conformity with the tenor of said treaty. 
Captain Smart, in communicating this to the government of Nicara- 
gua, invites it to come forward in a spirit of conciliation, in order to 
settle all existing difficulties, and to avoid any infraction of treaties 
actually in force." 

Such, sir, is the substance of Captain Smart's note; and being so 
well convinced as I am of the many advantages which would accrue 
to both Nicaragua and Mosquito by a removal of all irritating causes, 
which only tend to increase their disagreements and retard that pros- 
perity which is now dawning upon them, I may be allowed to allude 
here to the closing paragraph in Mr. Chatfi eld's letter of September 2, 
addressed to you, sir, in which he points out the means by which an 
honorable settlement of all existing difficulties can be reached, and in 
furtherance of which purpose every assistance will be given by your 
very obedient servant, 

JOHN FOSTER, 

Vice Consul. 

To the Principal Secretary 

Of the Government of Nicaragua. 

Leon, November 12, 1850. 
True copy : 
[l. s.] . SALINAS. 



[Translation.] 

Government House, 

Leon, October 22, 1850. 

This department has received your note, dated the 12th instant, 
enclosing the instructions which the commander of her Britannic Ma- 
jesty's naval forces at Jamaica has addressed to Mr. Smart, captain of 
her Britannic Majesty's ship-of-war u Indefatigable," and formerly in 
command of the protective force stationed at the port of San Juan de 
Nicaragua, which you call Greytown, declaring that some parties hav- 
ing given a perverse interpretation to the treaty concluded at Washing- 
ton on the 19th of April last between the United States and England, 
construing the same as a surrender of the protectorate which her Bri- 
tannic Majesty's government has a right to exercise, for a long time 
past, over the so-called Mosquito nation, he has determined to make 
use of said protectorate by taking military possession of the port afore- 



102 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

said and its vicinity, in order to secure the rights of the supposed Mos- 
quito king, promising, at the same time, to afford every facility to the 
parties pledged to carry into effect the inter-oceanic canal undertaking, 
in its course through the Mosquito territory, in conformity with said 
treaty, and inviting the government of this State to settle all existing 
difficulties and to avoid any infraction of the aforesaid treaty. 

The government of the undersigned will forbear from entering into 
any lengthy discussion as to whether the captain of a ship-of-war is 
the proper channel for official communications of this kind, inasmuch 
as the rules of international law, in the management of diplomatic 
relations, are well known ; and confining itself strictly to the contents 
of your note, it has directed the following reply ; That this State has 
never recognised the existence of a monarchy and of a king on the 
northern coast of its territory ; that, on the contrary, it has always 
maintained that the Atlantic coast inhabited hy those Nicaraguan 
savages, called Mosquitos, is an integral part of the ancient province 
of Nicaragua, now a State hearing the same name ; and that, conse- 
quently, it would only be upon this basis that this government could 
stipulate or accept treaties of friendship, commerce, and navigation, 
which the government of her Britannic Majesty desires to have with 
it ; that the aforesaid convention of Washington prohibits, definitely, 
her Britannic Majesty's government from all occupation of any point 
on the Mosquito coast, or of any other in Central America ; that the 
act of stationing British forces in the port of San Juan de Nicaragua, 
and its vicinity, is a new aggression against the territorial rights of 
this State, and a manifest violation of the aforesaid treaty of Wash- 
ington, against the infraction of which this government solemnly pro- 
tests ; and that, in view of the military occupation of the port afore- 
said and its vicinities, the government of the undersigned will use 
such further means as international law admits in order to maintain 
its independence and sovereignty. 

I have the pleasure of renewing to you my sentiments of regard, 
and to subscribe myself, as ever, your obedient and faithful servant, 

SEBASTIAN SALINAS. 

Don Juan Foster, 

Vice Consul of H. B. Majesty at the port of Bealejo. 

Leon, November 13, 1850. 
True copy : 

[l. s.] l SALINAS. 



[Translation.] 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, February 24, 1851. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the republic of Nicaragua, has the honor of addressing himself to 
Mr. Daniel Webster, Secretary of State of the United States, for the 
purpose of submitting to him a few remarks relative to the construe- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 103 

tion which Great Britain has thought proper to put upon the treaty 
concluded between that power and the United States of the north, on 
the 19th of April, 1850. 

It is publicly known that the object of the aforesaid treaty was to 
secure the most perfect liberty in the construction of the maritime 
canal through the isthmus of Nicaragua, and to guaranty the neu- 
trality of that important route of inter-oceanic communication. There 
can be no doubt that, in order to attain these ends, and with a view of 
avoiding all kind of difficulties in the faithful and honest performance 
of. the stipulations of the treaty, the two powers have thought it 
proper to cause to be inserted the names of allthe states, districts, and 
localities adjoining, or through which the aforesaid canal had to pass, 
and among them the Mosquito coast and country, which form and 
constitute, as they have always formed and constituted, an essential 
and integral part of the republic of Nicaragua. 

The result of this has been that Great Britain, being determined 
to construe to her own advantage the very letter and provisions of the 
treaty, addressed new instructions and communications to all her 
agents in Central America, especially to those residing in Nicaragua, 
announcing to them, in explanation of the text of the treaty, that 
the government of the American Union had recognised the existence 
of the pretended king of Mosquito, and, consequently, the usurpation 
of the port of San Juan ; and that the treaty of the 19th of April, 
1850, so far from weakening the rights of the savage chief, confirms 
and strengthens them. 

The undersigned, although fully satisfied as to the sentiments which 
animate the government of the Union, and the error into which the 
British government has fallen, cannot avoid addressing himself to 
Mr. Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing whether the government of the United States really intends to 
recognise, in virtue of said treaty, the existence of a separate sove- 
reign territory, independent of the republic of Nicaragua, commonly 
known by the designation of Mosquito coast and Mosquito countrv ; 
and whether the present administration, which so wisely and so pru- 
dently rules the destinies of the republic, concurs in the opinions and 
avows the principles laid down in the despatch which Mr. Clayton ad- 
dressed to the charge d'affaires of the republic, in Nicaragua, under 
date of May 7, 1850. 

The undersigned begs that the Secretary of State will be pleased to 
give an answer to the questions contained in this despatch as soon as 
possible, and to receive the assurances of his highest and most distin- 
guished consideration. 

J. DE MAKCOLETA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State of the United States. 



104 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

t [Translation.] 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, February 26, 1851. 

Mr. Secretary: Under date of the 13th October, 1850, the under- 
signed addressed a communication to Mr. Abbott Lawrence, United 
States minister in London, and one subsequently, dated the 18th of 
last January, to Mr. Eives, who exercises the same functions near the 
government of the French republic, both of which notes contained 
the following declaration : 

(< Senor Minister : The legation of Nicaragua has learned, from a 
reliable source, that the government of her Britannic Majesty has 
proposed to the government of the United States of America, as a 
means of settling the question of San Juan, the cession of that port 
to the State of Costa Eica. The tendency of this proposition being 
to deprive Nicaragua of her rights over this portion of her territory — 
rights which the forcible occupation of that- port could not have de- 
stroyed ; and, as this arrangement is moreover in opposition, not only 
to the interests of Nicaragua, but also to those of the American com- 
pany for the construction of the Atlantic-Pacific canal, and this being 
a new occupation disguised under different forms, the undersigned 
declares, in the most peremptory, solemn, and positive manner, that 
his government, so far from being able or intending to accept this 
basis as the means of settlement, only sees in it a fresh act of injus- 
tice — a source of new difficulties and further complications. 

" The government of Nicaragua cannot, under any circumstances, 
consent to this new spoliation, equally at variance with all principles 
of equity and justice : it were to renounce, on the contrary, all those 
rights which have appertained to her from time immemorial — rights 
which she has never ceased to maintain from January 1, 1848, the 
epoch when the British naval forces took possession of San Juan, in 
the name of the pretended Mosquito king. 

" The undersigned, therefore, begs that the American minister will 
be pleased to make the foregoing declaration known ; and, in the mean 
time, he avails himself of this opportunity to tender him the assu- 
rances of his most distinguished consideration." 

As the undersigned is in possession of positive data, showing that 
the British government insists upon the arrangement alluded to, in 
furtherance of which it has prevailed upon the government of Costa 
Eica to set up false pretensions to the port of San Juan, I cannot do 
less than to repeat now the declaration which I made on the proper 
occasion to the representatives of the American government, both in 
London and in Paris. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to tender to the 
Secretary of State the assurances of his most distinguished consider- 
ation. 

J. DE MAECOLETA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State, dc, &c. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 105 

Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster. A 

Legation op Costa Eica, 

Washington, March 28, 1851. 

Sir : I have been specially instructed to represent, through your 
honorable medium, to the government of the United States of America, 
that the republic of Costa Eica is very anxious to see the philanthropic 
views of this government in regard to Central America carried out, 
as contemplated by the ship-canal convention entered into with Great 
Britain. 

According to the provisions of that convention, both contracting 
powers, the United States and Great Britain, agree to offer their 
good offices for the settlement of any differences existing between the 
States of Central America in regard to the territories over which the 
projected route shall traverse, with a view to remove the political 
difficulties embarrassing the execution of that great enterprise, and in 
the interest of humanity. 

The government of the United States is probably aware that the 
republic of Costa Eica claims a right of dominion over all the country 
lying on the southern bank of the river San Juan, from the Atlantic 
ocean to the Lake of Nicaragua, as well as on that portion of the 
aforesaid lake comprised between Fort San Carlos and river La Flor, 
together with the right to the joint navigation of the above-mentioned 
river San Juan and of Lake Nicaragua. Costa Eica consequently 
maintains that her concurrence and participation is necessary in order 
to open any inter-oceanic communication across the described localities. 
The State of Nicaragua refuses to recognise the validity of those 
claims, and pretends to exercise an exclusive control over all matters 
concerning said territories and said river and lake. 

These differences have been for the last few years the subject of 
frequent discussions and misunderstandings between the governments 
of Nicaragua and Costa Eica, giving rise to an unnatural state of 
feeling between communities owing their existence to the same source, 
and connected by the ties of an equal religion and identical language, 
customs, and laws. 

For its part, the government of Costa Eica, after having exhausted 
the means of arriving at a peaceful arrangement of such questions by 
a direct understanding with the neighboring State, as a sense of fra- 
ternity and good policy would recommend, has come to the conviction 
that the only way left for a settlement is to submit the whole affair to 
the arbitration of disinterested parties. 

It is under this impression that Costa Eica accepted a long time ago 
the high mediation of the United States and Great Britain, and that 
she appeals now to the justice and good will of this government, 
trusting that it will, as the tutelar power of this continent, dispense 
to her the same considerations that Nicaragua has obtained, and not 
afford to the latter country, by" treaty or otherwise, any countenance 
or support injurious to Costa Eica. 

We are likewise led to hope that, pending the settlement of the 
conflicting claims, the government of the United States will be pleased 



106 . CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



P 



to use its influence with the government of Nicaragua in order to pre- 
sent a collision, which would only he attended with waste of life and 
roperty, and not with any final result. 

The character of the present administration of the American Union, 
so highly distinguished for its wisdom and equity, is regarded hy my 
government as a pledge that the reasonable demands of Costa Eica 
forming the subject of this communication shall be favorably listened 
to. 

I think it, therefore, my duty to assure you beforehand that the 
names of the illustrious persons composing now the administration of 
this nation will forever occupy a prominent place in the grateful 
hearts of the Costa Eican people as the benefactors of that country. 

With the renewed assurance of my high consideration and deep 
respect, I have the honor to remain, sir, your most obedient servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State of the Government of the United States. 



Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina. 

Department of State, 

Washington, March 31, 1851. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of 
the 28th instant, expressing the anxiety of your government to see 
the philanthropic views of the government of the United States in 
regard to Central America carried out as contemplated by the ship- 
canal convention entered into with Great Britain. 

In reply, I have the honor to acquaint you that this anxiety is 
reciprocated by the President of the United States, who has determined 
to adopt, at once, all proper measures towards accomplishing the 
object. A distinguished citizen of this country, the honorable J. B. 
Kerr, late a member of the Congress of the United States, has been 
appointed and commissioned by the government of the United States 
as charge d'affaires to that of Nicaragua. He will proceed on his 
mission about the 1st of May. Although accredited to the govern- 
ment of Nicaragua only, he will be directed by this department to 
visit the other governments of Central America, so far as may be in 
his power, to inquire into the causes of the controversies existing 
between them, and to urge upon all those governments the propriety 
of coming to terms of peace and amity between themselves. How 
desirable it is that those States should be united under one govern- 
ment ! The President cannot willingly give up the hope that this 
will again be accomplished, and Mr. Kerr will be directed to express 
this sentiment respectfully to them a^., and to suggest to their con- 
sideration how little the probability is that Central America, now a 
point so interesting to all nations, can ever attain her proper dignity 
and proper destiny while divided into so many small States. But if 
this should be found hopeless, he will still be ejected to urge upon 



CENTEAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 107 

all those governments, in the most friendly manner, the necessity of 
an immediate cessation of hostilities. The interfering claims of the 
respective governments of Central America can hardly be expected to 
be justly settled by the sword, and war among such states must be 
equally ruinous to the conquerors and the conquered. 

Mr. Molina will understand that these sentiments are here advanced 
from no motive but a sincere regard for the interests of that country. 
In all that exists in Central America, and in all that may occur here- 
after, the United States pursue no private or selfish end whatever. 
They will not withhold their good offices or their acts of kindness 
from any of those States. They wish them all to become prosperous 
and happy. Their desire for this warrants the government of the 
United States not to use any terms of control or dictation, but to sig- 
nify its good will, and 'to offer its advice with all proper earnestness. 

The position of Central America on this continent, at the present 
moment, excites an extraordinary interest in the civilized world. The 
lines of communication which are to connect the Atlantic and Pacific 
seas must, several of them, run through that country. In establishing 
these communications, all civilized commercial states have a direct 
interest ; and it may be taken for granted that this communication 
will be made, and therefore those governments cannot be too early 
nor too vigorous in their efforts to establish peace and harmony, if 
indeed they cannot establish political union among themselves, to the 
end that the rights of all may be protected^ and the whole country go 
forward in the progress of improvement. 

I avail myself of this occasion, sir, to offer to you the assurance of 
my verv distinguished consideration. 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

Senor Don Felipe Molina, dtc, dc, &c. 



[Translation.] 
Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, May 7, 1851. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotenti- 
ary of the republic of Nicaragua near the government of the United 
States, has the honor of enclosing to the Hon. Daniel Webster, Secre- 
tary of State, copies of two communications which have been trans- 
mitted to the government of Nicaragua — one by Mr. John Foster, 
British vice consul at Realejo, and the other by Mr. Frederick 
Chatfield, consul general and charge d'affaires of England in Central 
America. 

TBe character, contents, and date of these documents, have induced 
the government of Nicaragua to believe, and to feel convinced even, 
that Great Britain, notwithstanding the stipulations entered into, 
and the compromises solemnly agreed upon with the American gov- 
ernment, on the 19th of April, 1850, designs to evade the exact ful- 



108 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

filment of the same, by giving a perverse and even a false interpre- 
tation to the letter and spirit of the provisions contained therein. 

It has appeared to the government of Nicaragua that compromises 
of this nature, the object of which is to assist in carrying out an un- 
dertaking of great magnitude, and of immense utility to the com- 
mercial world, ought to have been faithfully complied with, and fully 
carried into effect, immediately after the exchange of ratifications 
between the contracting parties. 

Unfortunately, experience has shown the contrary ; and proofs are 
accumulating daily to the effect that the only object which Great 
Britain has proposed to herself is to evade the compromises aforesaid, 
and to prolong a state of things which is fatal to the entire com- 
merce of the world, contrary to justice and to equity, offensive to the 
dignity and independence of Nicaragua, and injurious to her interests 
and to the fostering and development of her natural resources. 

If to these considerations we add the insults and vexations which 
are daily inflicted by British officers and British agents, who, owing 
to the want of capacity on the part of the protected Mosquitos, exer- 
cise authority in the name of that savage tribe, against the honor, the 
dignity, and the respect due to the government and the citizens of the 
republic, it should not be wondered at if the government and the 
people of Nicaragua, exasperated beyond endurance, were to overstep 
the boundaries of that moderation and forbearance which, until this 
day, have been the rule and the guide of their conduct. 

Nicaragua is well aware that, under any other circumstances, her 
interference in the affairs of two great foreign powers might be liable 
to censure, as ill-advised and unreasonable ; but in the present case, 
when the subjects under consideration affect, in so direct a manner, 
her interests, the integrity of her territory, and her political exist- 
ence, she thinks it her duty to be vigilant, and to protest, as she does 
protest through the medium of her representative, against those acts 
which bear ostensible evidence of a flagrant violation of solemn con- 
tracts Tand sacred compromises, which are so intimately connected 
with her political, territorial, and mercantile interests. 

The undersigned hopes, therefore, that the government of the 
United States, duly appreciating the contents of this despatch and those 
of the accompanying documents, will hasten to adopt some measures 
worthy of the noble principles which constitute the foundation of 
American policy, and in harmony with the good and friendly rela- 
tions and the interest which the government and people of the United 
States have manifested, and still continue to manifest daily, towards 
their sister republic of Nicaragua, to which they are bound by so 
many intimate ties, that are happily being drawn .closer and closer 
between them. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to renew to the 
honorable Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, the assurances of his most 
distinguished consideration. 

J. DE MABCOLETA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 109 



[Translation.] 



British Vice-Consulate, 

Bealejo, October 12, 1850. 

Sir : I have the honor to inform you that I have received from Mr. 
Robert Smart, captain of her Britannic Majesty's ship lc Indefatiga- 
ble," and an old officer of the protective forces, a note, dated the 14th 
of September last, from Greytown, to which point he has been sent by 
the commanding officer of her Majesty's naval forces at Jamaica. 

Captain Smart was ordered to communicate to the government of 
Nicaragua the tenor of his instructions. 

"The treaty which has lately been concluded at Washington be- 
tween G-reat Britain and the United States, for the construction of a 
maritime canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, having 
been perversely interpreted by certain parties as a withdrawal of the 
protection which the first-mentioned power has hitherto granted to 
the Mosquito nation, her Majesty's government has thought proper to 
locate the forces aforesaid in Greytown and its vicinities, for the pur- 
pose of showing that it was never intended to make any such conces- 
sion ; and while this measure is taken to secure the rights of the 
Mosquito king, every facility will be given to the parties engaged in 
the construction of the canal across his territory, agreeably to the 
provisions of said treaty. In making this communication to the 
government of Nicaragua, Captain Smart invites the latter to meet 
him in a spirit of conciliation, in order to settle all existing difficul- 
ties, and to avoid all possible violation of treaties actually in force." 

Such, sir, is the substance of Captain Smart's note ; and being fully 
convinced, as I am in fact, that great advantages will accrue to Nica- 
ragua and to Mosquito by the removal of all causes of irritation, which 
only tend to increase the number of disagreements between them, and 
to retard that prosperity which is at present dawning upon them, I 
shall be excused for referring, in this place, to the last paragraph in 
Mr. Chatfield's note of the 2d of September, addressed to you, sir, in 
which he points out " the means by which all existing difficulties can 
be honorably settled ;" towards which object every assistance will be 
given by your most obedient servant, 

JOHN FOSTER, Vice Consul. 

The Principal Secretary 

Of the Government of Nicaragua. 
True copy : 

J. DE MARCOLETA. 



[Translation.] 

Legation of her Britannic Majesty, 
Guatemala, December 5, 1850. 
The government of Nicaragua having systematically slighted the 
frequent propositions which have been made to the republic of Nica- 



110 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

ragua, in the name of her Majesty the Queen of' Great Britain and 
Ireland as representing the king of Mosquito, with a view of deter- 
mining, by means of some formal arrangement, the boundaries between 
the dominions of the aforesaid king of Mosquito and the territory of 
the republic of Nicaragua, her Britannic Majesty has come to the con- 
clusion that the interest and comfort of both parties require that this 
point should not any longer remain unsettled ; and, as a proof of the 
conciliatory spirit which actuates her Britannic Majesty on this sub- 
ject, it has been resolved to declare that the boundaries of the terri- 
tory of Mosquito, on that side which is contiguous to Nicaragua, will 
be considered the same as those which were designated for that ldng- 
dom on the 15th of September, 1821, when Nicaragua, as a portion of 
the ancient kingdom of Guatemala, made herself independent of the 
Spanish monarchy. This basis being established, the respective locali- 
ties of the two countries are determined according to the civil and 
ecclesiastical regulations which have been in force in Nicaragua — sup- 
posing that the towns and villages which are situated on the Mosquito 
frontier, with municipal and parochial authorities, remain as they 
have been until now — forming a part and being under the jurisdiction 
of the government and authorities of Nicaragua. The existing in- 
correctness of geographical data, in regard to the interior of Central 
America, does not allow, for the present, the possibility of determining 
the latitude and longitude of places appertaining to Nicaragua, at a 
distance from her eastern and northeastern frontier ; but circumstances 
require that the general line of the boundaries which her Majesty's 
government is disposed to maintain as Mosquito territory should be 
designated — the government of Nicaragua having refused to enter into 
a friendly discussion, and to appoint commissioners to that effect for 
settling the boundary line between the two territories. With this 
view the undersigned, charge d'affaires of her Britannic Majesty in 
Central America, has the honor of informing the minister of the 
supreme government of Nicaragua, that the general boundary line of 
the dominions of Mosquito runs from the northern extremity of the 
line which separates the district of Tegucigalpa, in Honduras, from 
the jurisdiction of New Segovia, in Nicaragua ; and following close 
upon the northern frontier of New Segovia, runs off from the south- 
eastern boundary of the district of Matagalpa and Choutales, and 
from thence, in an eastern direction, as far as the borders of Machuca, 
in the river San Juan. In order to avoid all possible mistake or mis- 
understanding in regard to the villages which have belonged to 
Nicaragua from the period previous to her independence in 1821, there 
has been annexed to this note a list of the parish districts and their 
dependencies in the diocese of Nicaragua, which, with their respective 
demesnes and private estates, with their due titles, that are found 
situated on the eastern and northeastern frontier of Nicaragua, it is 
understood, are considered as without the limits of Mosquito on the 
frontier of Nicaragua.. In conclusion, the undersigned, in stating that 
the line referred to above is that which is considered as constituting 
the boundary between the two countries, begs to repeat that her 
Britannic Majesty is determined to maintain the same in the name of 
the king of Mosquito, without relinquishing, on this account, the dis- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. Ill 

position to negotiate and to enter into a friendly agreement with the 
government of Nicaragua, upon a firm basis, for the final settlement of 
these questions. The undersigned hopes that the government of Nica- 
ragua will perceive the expediency of coming to a friendly understand- 
ing with the government of Mosquito ; because it is obvious that 
neither the canal nor any other means of communication through the 
isthmus can be fully established until the difficulties which have been 
started by Nicaragua, upon this point, are settled and put at rest. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion, &c. 

FREDERICK CHATFIELD. 

The Minister of Relations 

Of the Supreme Government of Nicaragua, Leon. 

Leon, January 4, 1851. 
True copy — there is a signature : 

SALINAS. 



Extract from the table of parish districts in the bishopric of Nicaragua, 
jurisdiction of New Segovia. 

Segovia, its dependencies ; Mozonte and the Ocotal ; the town of 
St. Antonio de Esteli ; the Xicaro ; S. A. Jalapa ; Tepezomoto ; S. 
A. Pueblo Nuevo ; Iotogalpa and Haquina. 

District of Matagalpa. 

Matagalpa ; S. A. Sebaco ; Muimui ; San Ramon Xinotega Jeuste- 
pet ; S. A. Baco Camuapa y Comalapa ; Palacaguina ; S. A. Oondega 
y Tespanega ; Acoyapa.. 
True copy : 

J. DE MARCOLETA, 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, May 8, 1851. 

The undersigned, minister plenipotentiary of Costa Rica, has the 
honor to transmit herewith, to the Hon. Mr. Webster, Secretary of 
State of the United States, a copy of a " memoir" on the boundary 
question pending betweeif the republic of Costa Rica and the State of 
Nicaragua, which he has considered his duty to publish, as represent- 
ative of that republic. 

He begs, likewise, to hand the three accompanying manuscript 
copies,, viz : 

(A.) — Copy of the charter granted by the king of Spain, in 1540, to 
Diego G-utierrez, for the purpose of settling the province of Cartago, 
(Costa Rica,) and conferring upon him the title of governor. Ex- 
tracts of other records, referring to the commencement of that colony, 
are annexed thereto, 



112 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

(B.) — Copy of the charter granted by the king of Spain, in 1574, 
to Diego cle Artieda, appointing him governor and captain-general of 
Costa Eica. 

(C.) — Copy of a report sent to the court of Spain, in 1719, by Don 
Diego de la Haya, the then governor of Costa Eica, describing at 
length the condition in which the province was at that period. 

The portions of those documents that have not been transcribed in 
the accompanying copies were only such as appeared quite irrelevant 
to the subject in question. 

It is in compliance with the instructions of his government that the 
undersigned hastens now to lay before the honorable Secretary of State 
the aforesaid memoir and ancient records for the information of the 
American government. He ventures to think that these papers afford 
the strongest evidence of the justice of Costa Eica in her claim to the 
territories and rights in dispute, as well as of the moderation that has 
always guided her counsels ; and he flatters himself that their perusal 
will suffice to secure, in behalf of the- country he represents, the kind 
interest and good opinions of the cabinet at Washington, which Costa 
Eica values in the highest degree, and is so anxious to deserve. 

Although, as set forth in the report above mentioned, Costa Eica 
believes she has a clear title to repute as belonging to her dominion 
the southern portion of the harbor of San Juan, now occupied under 
the authority of the Mosquito king with the assistance of Great Brit- 
ain, she has abstained heretofore from bringing forward such a claim, 
out of regard for the friendly relations existing between herself and 
Great Britain, and in the hope of being enabled, at some future day, 
to effect through negotiation a satisfactory arrangement. It will be 
perceived, moreover, that the circumstances in which Costa Eica has 
}3een placed rendered this line of policy the only one open to her. 

However, in the event of any change taking place in respect to the 
aforesaid port of San Juan, the republic of Costa Eica will think her- 
self called upon to sustain her claim to it, which is equally as good as 
that of Nicaragua ; and she feels confident that her rights will be 
taken into consideration, and that the government of the United 
States will exercise its influence to have those rights duly recognised 
by Nicaragua, not only in reference to that locality, but likewise in 
reference to the whole frontier maintained by the republic. 

It is hardly necessary to add, that having accepted, a long time 
since, the proffered mediation of the United j States and Great Britain 
for the settlement of the questions alluded ijo, Costa Eica will gladly 
and thankfully listen to any suggestions thelt both powers may think 
proper to make on the subject, trusting tha* some means may be de- 
vised to facilitate the earliest and most satisfactory termination of 
these questions, as the interest of all the parties concerned does re- 
quire. 

The undersigned profits of this opportunity to renew to the honor- 
able Secretary of State the assurances of his high consideration and 
deep respect, as his most obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 113 



^Translation.] 

Charier granted to Diego Gutierrez, and other records respecting the 
ancient province of Costa Rica. — 1540. 

I, Don Aniceto de la Higuera, of the illustrious college of advo- 
cates, and of the economical association of the friends of the county 
of Seville, secretary of her Majesty, and honorary auditor of war and 
marine, and keeper of the archives of the Indian bureau in said city, 

Certify : That there having been addressed to me by the most ex- 
cellent Count of San Luis, secretary of state and of the department of 
government of the kingdom, the royal order made at Madrid on the 
twenty-seventh of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, which, 
copied word for word, says as follows : 

" Bureau of Foreign Affairs, 

" Madrid, May 27, 1850. 
'? Her Majesty the Queen has thought proper to grant permission' 
to Don Felipe Molina, minister plenipotentiary of Costa Eica at 
this court, either in person or through the medium of some one em- 
powered by him, to assist in ascertaining from the archives of that 
office the boundaries of said republic, comprising the ancient province 
of the same name, and the district of Nicoya, where the captaincy- 
general of Guatemala formerly existed, ordering, that as occasion re- 
quires, there be freely delivered to said plenipotentiary copies of such 
documents as are not reserved, which may tend to establish the bound- 
ary lines referred to. I inform you of this by royal order for the 
purposes to which it applies, and as additional to that of the nine- 
teenth of the present month. God preserve you many years. 

"SAN LUIS, 
" TJie Archive-keeper General of the Indies, Seville." 

Senor Don Jose Maria Gutierrez, honorary secretary of her Majesty, 
and agent of Senor Don Felipe Molina, minister plenipotentiary of 
Costa Rica, having presented himself before me at the same time, I 
exhibited to him the bundle of papers preserved among these archives, 
inscribed " Secretary of Peru, registries of Veragua, official and pri- 
vate ; one volume, from the year one thousand five hundred and 
thirty-four, to the year one thousand six hundred and twenty-eight/' 
which is bound, and contains two hundred and six written leaves, 
whereamong are to be found several royal orders and separate para- 
graphs which have been pointed out by said agent for the purpose of 
making this certificate, and which, copied word for word, one after 
'the other, are as follows : 

On the first folio there is contained a description of the province of 
Veragua, after its having been conquered and settled by Captain 
8 a 



114 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Felipe Gutierrez, and it states that it includes all the territory within 
the boundary lines, commencing at the government of Castilla del 
Oro, called " Tierra Firme," and which were run out by Pedrarias 
Davila and by Pedro de los Eios, governors at that time of said prov- 
ince, under the directions which were given to them, as far as the 
Cape of " Gracias a, Dios." 

On both sides of the thirty-eighth leaf is to be found the authoriza- 
tion of the conquest of the province of Cartago, accorded to Diego 
Gutierrez, and dated at Madrid on the twenty-ninth of November, 
one thousand five hundred and forty, and therein there is a paragraph 
which, copied word for word, is as follows : 

"Firstly, we give license and authority that through us and our 
name, and that of the royal crown of Castile, you may make conquest 
of and colonize the lands which belong to us in said province of 
Veragua, including from sea to sea, which commences from where 
your said conquest and colonization begins, and is to terminate at the 
large river near 'El Pomiente,' on the opposite side of Cape Cama- 
ron, where the banks of said river, on the Honduras side, trend within 
the government of said province of Honduras ; and, in like manner, 
should there be found in said river any islands inhabited, or capable 
of being inhabited by Indians, which are not ascertained to have been 
conquered and colonized by Spaniards, you can proceed to make con- 
quest of them, and provide that the navigation and fishery and ad- 
vantages of said river may be in common, yet at the same time you 
are not to approach within fifteen leagues of the Lake of Nicaragua, 
inasmuch as these fifteen leagues, together with said lake, have to 
remain and do remain under the government of Nicaragua ; but the 
navigation and fishery of that portion of said river which remains to 
you, and of the said fifteen leagues and lake which remain to Nica- 
ragua, are to be enjoyed in common ; and we likewise give you 
authority to make conquest of and colonize the islands which happen 
to be in the vicinity of said land in the North sea ; yet, at the same 
time, you are not to enter within the limits and bounds of the prov- 
ince of Nicaragua, nor within the other provinces which are assigned 
to other governors, nor any which may be colonized by or apportioned 
to any other governor." 

On the forty-fifth folio, also on both pages, there is to be found the 
license to make conquest of and colonize the territory .therein desig- 
nated as the government of Captain Diego Gutierrez, dated at Madrid 
on the sixteenth of December, one thousand five hundred and forty, 
and contained therein is the paragraph which, copied word for word, 
says as follows : [It is entirely similar to the preceding one, and for 
that reason is not copied.] On the sixty-sixth folio there is a reply 
made by the prince, at Valladolid, on the ninth of May, one thousand 
five hundred and forty-five, to Diego Gutierrez, governor and captain- 
general of the province of Cartago^ in answer to his letter of the 
thirtieth of November, one thousand five hundred and forty-three, 
addressed to the Emperor, in relation to the events that had occurred 
since his arrival ; and the third paragraph, copied word for word, is 
of the following tenor : 

" You say that you were commanded by his Majesty not to approach 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 115 

within fifteen leagues from the lake of Nicaragua ;_ and that the 
outlet thereof, which approaches the coast, is at the point where your 
government adjoins the other, and that the windings of the outlet up 
to the mouth thereof are what the inhabitants of Nicaragua call 
twenty-two or twenty-three leagues ; and that if you cannot reach 
within fifteen leagues of that place, you will be unable to derive any 
benefit from the donation which his Majesty has made to you, and you 
represent that your means have become exhausted, and you entreat 
that a declaration thereupon be made. He will direct that the whole 
subject be looked into, and such provisions therein made by him as 
he shall see fit, and as shall accord with justice ; meanwhile you are 
to observe the orders and instructions which have been hitherto com- 
municated to you." 

On the one hundredth folio, upon each side of the leaf, there is to 
be found a royal order issued at Madrid on the fourth of August, one 
thousand five hundred and sixty-one, addressed to the council and 
ayuntamiento of the city of Castile of Asturia, which, copied entire, 
is as follows : 

"The king, council of justice, to the rulers, knights, squires, 

servants, and good men of the city of Castile of Asturia: I saw your 

letter of the twenty-first of November of the year last past, of fifteen 

hundred and sixty, wherein you make mention of the colony which 

you have sent from your town to the port of San Greronimo, which is 

in the province of Cartago, and the hope you entertain of discovering 

great wealth in that locality, on account of the knowledge which you 

possess of the soil, and of the industrial pursuits which you have 

already undertaken and are now undertaking, and which you have 

conducted under the command of Juan de Estrada Kavago, a clerk in 

the office of the licentiate Cavallon, upon whom that government has 

been bestowed ; and I have felt great satisfaction at that discovery 

and colonization which you have effected, and at the expectation 

which you entertain that the soil is to be very productive, and I 

accordingly compliment you, and express my acknowledgments for the 

labors you have performed there, and the good order which you seem 

to have preserved in every respect ; and I charge you to continue that 

which you have commenced, and that you will endeavor to civilize 

said people, and reclaim the lands which you shall possess in that 

district, and that the Indians be well treated, and educated in the 

faith of the holy Catholic church ; that application be made to us 

whenever it can well and rightly be done, and that I shall order your 

services to be kept in mind, so that you may receive the reward which 

you have justly merited. As to what you write, requesting us to 

appoint said Juan de Estrada Kavago, clerk, to be your pastor and 

prelate, on account of his being well-deserving and well-fitted for said 

charge, it appears to us at present to be too soon to appoint a prelate 

in that country, from the circumstance that it is so short a time since 

it has begun to be settled, and the population is so scanty ; but the 

request you make shall be kept in mind hereafter, as also to reward said 

Juan de Estrada Ravago, according to what he has merited and does 

merit, and according to justice and his personal deserts. Madrid, 

August fourth, one thousand five hundred and sixty-one. I, the king. 



116 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

i 

Countersigned, De Erasso. Signed, De Vasquez, Castro Xarava, 
Valderrama, Gomez Zapata." 

On the one hundred and first folio is to be found another royal 
letter, addressed to Juan de Estrada Ravago, which, copied word for 
word, is as follows: 

"I, the king. Juan de Estrada Ravago: I have seen your letter 
of the twenty-first of November of the year last past, one thousand 
five hundred and sixty, written at Castillo de Asturia, which is in the 
province of Cartago and Costa Rica; and from that letter, and from the 
report which you have forwarded to us, and from what has been 
written to us from that city, I have understood how you have labored 
in the discovery and colonization thereof, and how the licentiate 
Cavallon, under commission from our president and the auditors of 
the royal board of control for the colonies, sent you to make said 
discovery, and how you went there by sea and returned by land, with 
a number of the native inhabitants and animals, and I feel great 
satisfaction at what you have done, which, according to your report, 
I consider to have been rightly performed, and I feel to have been 
benefited by the labors which you have performed there ; and I trust 
in our Lord that, having united with said licentiate Cavallon, you 
will prosecute its discovery to a conclusion, and learn its hidden 
resources ; and that the native inhabitants will receive great benefit 
in their education and conversion to our holy Catholic faith, to which 
end, with your good zeal and Christianity, you will bestow the proper 
attention; and, accordingly, I charge you to continue that which you 
have commenced, and to endeavor to effect the improvement of that 
colony, and that we may be rendered such advantage therefrom as 
can justly and rightly be done; and that you in particular, as a priest 
and ecclesiastical personage, acquire great influence with the Indians 
and with their good treatment and instruction in the doctrines of our 
holy Catholic faith, and inform us constantly of what shall transpire 
there, and suggest whatever may be necessary to be done on our part, 
who, on account of your services and the labors you have performed 
and will perform, will order it to be borne in mind that you receive 
the reward that shall appear to be just and such as you deserve. At 
Madrid, on the fourth of August, one thousand five hundred and 
sixty-one. The king. Countersigned, De Eraso. Signed by the 
same." 

And on the one hundred and first folio, on both sides of the leaf, 
there is to be found another royal letter, addressed to the licentiate 
Cavallon, which, copied word for word, is of the following tenor : 

" The king, to the licentiate Juan Cavallon, our procurator of the 
royal board of control for the colonies : By letters from Juan de Es- 
trada Ravago, and from the city of Castillo de Asturia, I have learned 
how our president and auditors of said royal board of control of the 
colonies gave you instructions, through our principal alcalde of the 
province of Nicaragua, to proceed from thence to make discovery of 
and colonize the province of Nuevo Cartago and Costa Rica in a posi- 
tive manner ; and as you, in compliance thereof, and in view of the 
services which would be rendered to our Lord and us therein, you 
formed the determination to make an exploration and colonization of 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 117 

said territory ; and you concerted with said Juan de Estrada Eavago 
to go and ascertain about it ; and, in accordance therewith, you both 
agreed upon the necessary preparations for said purpose, and you came 
to the conclusion that said Juan de Estrada Kavago should go by sea 
and you by land ; and, accordingly, said Juan de Estrada went with 
about sixty men, and disembarked at the port of San Greronimo, which 
is in said province of Cartago and Costa Eica, where it appears that 
he colonized said town of Castillo de Asturia, and that you there 
afforded him assistance with the force which you brought thither by 
land ; and I have been pleased to hear what has been effected by this 
discovery and colonization, because it appears that it has been actually 
accomplished, according to the report which has been transmitted to us 
by said Juan de Estrada Eavago ; and I feel confident that, having suc- 
ceeded in annexing said territory to ourselves, the result will be the ex- 
ploration and discovery of the hidden resources which it may possess, 
and that the natives thereof shall be conducted within the pale and 
brought to the knowledge of our holy Catholic faith ; and,, accordingly, 
I charge you, that as it is yourself who has effected that discovery and 
colonization, that you proceed to do there whatever is best in accordance 
with the interests of the Lord our God and of myself, paying regard, in 
every respect, to the order which we have issued in resj)ect to the, new 
colonies and discoveries ; and that you take care that the natives are well 
treated, and that we are well esteemed therein for what we rightly and 
justly can be ; and that you prosecute the discovery of this territory, 
and that you found such settlements therein as may appear suitable to 
you, leaving therein such regulations and system of government as you 
may see proper to adopt, when you see fit to return to reside in said 
Audience, in order to undertake there the said duties of prosecuting 
attorney, which we have now anew bestowed upon you ; for which, in 
regard to the services you have already bestowed and will hereafter 
bestow in this discovery and colonization, just as before, where you 
have served us, we shall order that you be kept in remembrance, so as 
to receive the reward which you may be entitled to. From Madrid, 
on the 4th of August, 1561. I, the king. Countersigned, De Eraso. 
Signed by the same." 

The report is correct, and the insertions correspond word for word 
with the documents which are referred to in the book above mentioned, 
which is preserved in the archives under my charge. And to authen- 
ticate the fact, I affix my signature to these presents, consisting of 
eight leaves, of the fourth seal, with the rubrics that are used in Se- 
ville, on the 4th of October, 1850. 

ANICETO DE LA HIGUEEA. 

For the certificate and papers requested, eighty-two reals. 

[Government of the province of Seville, l. s.] 

Don Aniceto de la Higuera, by whom the preceding certificate is 
authenticated, is, as he styles himself, keeper of the archives in the 
Indian bureau of this city ; and in order that it may be known, I, as 
the governor of the province, sign these presents, at Seville, on the 
20th of February, 1851. 

JAV'E CAVESTANY. 



118 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

[Ministro de la gobernacion, l. s.] 

The minister of the government of the kingdom, I certify that D. 
Javier Cavestany is, as he entitles himself, governor of the province 
of Seville, and that the signature affixed to the preceding certificate 
is the same which he is in the habit of using in all his public docu- 
ments ; and for such purposes as there may he occasion to have them 
used, I give these presents, at Madrid, on the 24th of February, 1851. 

JEKMIN AKTETA. 

Don Luis de la Torre Ay lion, under secretary of the department of 
state, &c, &c. ; I certify that Don Jermin Arteta, by whom the pre- 
ceding document is legalized, is the minister of the government of the 
kingdom, as he styles himself, and the signature and rubric placed at 
the foot appear to be his own ; and in authentication of this I give 
these presents, at Madrid, on the 27th of February, 1851. 

LUIS LOPEZ DE LA TOKKE AYLLON. 

[Ministro de Estado, l. s.] 



B. 

[Translation.] 

Charter granted to Don Diego de Artieda, appointing him governor of 
the province of Costa Rica. — 1574. 

I, Don Aniceto de la Higuera, of the illustrious college of advocates, 
and of the association of the friends of the country of Seville, secre- 
tary of her Majesty, and honorary auditor of war and marine, and 
keeper of the archives of the Indian bureau in said city, 

Certify : That there having been addressed to me by the most excel- 
lent Count of San Luis, secretary of state and of the department of 
government of the kingdom, the royal order made at Madrid on the 
twenty-seventh of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, which, 
copied word for word, says as follows: "Bureau of foreign affairs. 
Her Majesty the Queen has thought proper to grant permission to Don 
Felipe Molina, minister plenipotentiary of Costa Kica at this court, 
either in person or through the medium of some one empowered by 
him, to assist in ascertaining from the archives of that office the 
boundaries of said republic,, comprising the ancient province of the 
same name, and the district of Nicoya, where the captaincy-general 
of Guatemala formerly existed ; ordering that, as occasion requires, 
there be freely delivered to said plenipotentiary copies of such docu- 
ments as are not reserved, which may tend to establish the boundary 
lines referred to. I inform you of this by royal order for the purposes 
to which it applies, and as additional to that of the nineteenth of the 
present month. G-od preserve you many years. Madrid, the twenty- 
seventh of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. San Luis. 
The archive-keeper general of the Indies. Seville." 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 119 

Senor Don Jose Maria G-ufcierrez, honorary secretary of her Majesty 
and agent of Senor Don Felipe Molina, minister plenipotentiary of 
Costa Rica, having presented himself before me at the same time, I 
exhibited to him the bundle of papers preserved among these archives, 
inscribed " Office of the Secretary of New Spain. Registers letter X." 
A volume entitled "Costa Rica — for the years from one thousand five 
hundred and sixty-five up to one thousand six hundred and two ;" 
which is a bound volume, and contains one hundred and seven double 
pages, and at the sixty-sixth page, over, is to be found the document 
which has been designated by said gentleman for the purpose of this 
attestation, which, being copied literally, reads thus: "Marginal 
note— the title of governor and captain general of the province of 
Costa Rica, for Captain Diego de Artieda and for his son or brother, 
or any person whom he may name. D. Phelipe, &c. In consequence 
of the satisfaction you, Captain Diego de Artieda, have given us, and 
the services you have rendered us, which we wish you to continue, for 
the increase of our royal crown of Castille, we have ordered that you 
will take along the treaty and capitulation of the province of Costa 
Rica, in which treaty there occurs the following chapter : In the first 
place, we give you permission and power to reconnoitre, people, and 
pacify the aforesaid province of Costa Rica, and the other lands and 
provinces which may be included within the same, which is from the 
north to the south seas, in latitude and longitude, from the confines of 
Nicaragua, on the side of Nicoya, fronting the valleys of Chiriqui, as 
far as the province of Veragua, and we present you with the govern- 
ment and captaincy general of said province of Costa Rica x and all the 
other lands which, as above stated, are included in the same, for all 
the days of your life, or that of your son or heir, or of any person whom 
you may name, with a salary of two thousand ducats, taken yearly 
from the produce and revenue which may accrue to us in said province; 
it being understood that, in the failure of such produce or revenue, we 
shall not be obliged to order any part of said salary to be paid to you, 
and to that effect we will direct the proper title and office to be given 
to you, you , therefor fulfilling and observing said treaty and chapter 
which is inserted above. It is our will and pleasure, by these presents, 
that you shall enjoy, and that henceforward, and for the balance of 
your life, you be our governor and captain-general of said province 
of Costa Rica, and' of the other lands and provinces which may be 
included within the same, which is from the north to the south seas, 
in latitude and longitude, from the confines of Nicaragua, on the side 
of Nicoya, fronting the valleys of Chiriqui, as far as the province of 
Veragua to the south, and to the north from the mouths of the chan- 
nel, which is, in those parts belonging to Nicaragua, all the tract of 
land as far as the province of Veragua ; and that, after your death,, 
said government and captaincy- general shall be held by a son or heir 
of yours, or by any person that you may name to that effect, accord- 
ing and in the manner that you might have held the same, and that 
you may hold and exercise, as well as them, our civil and criminal 
jurisdiction with the offices of justice which may be located in said prov- 
ince of Costa Rica, and the lands and villages above mentioned ; and, by 
this our letter, we order all courts, justices, municipal officers, gentle- 



120 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

men, squires, officers, and good men of all cities, towns, and places, to be 
found in said province lands and populations which, are specified, and to 
our officers residing, or who may hereafter reside therein, that, as soon as 
you shall be required by means of these letters of ours, without any fur- 
ther call or delay whatever, without consulting or waiting for another 
letter of ours, or a second or third order, they shall take and receive from 
you, the aforesaid Captain Diego de Artieda, and after you from your son 
or heir aforesaid, or any person that you may name, the oath and so- 
lemnity required in such case, and which you must make ; which being 
done by you and them, they shall receive and hold you for our gover- 
nor and captain-general of said province of Costa Kica, and the popu- 
lation appertaining thereto, and allow you, and freely consent that you 
and them shall use and exercise said offices, and fulfil and execute 
our law by your or your alcaldes, your lieutenants and theirs, whom 
you may, and they may, dismiss and remove, whenever and when 
our service and the execution of our law shall require it ; and to 
appoint others in their places, and to try and determine all suit® 
and cases, both civil and criminal, which may occur in said prov- 
ince and lands above mentioned, and towns peopled, or which may 
hereafter be peopled, as well between persons residing there and the 
natives who may subsequently reside there, and you and your afore- 
said son or heir., or the person that you may name for said govern- 
ment ; and our alcaldes and lieutenants aforesaid may levy the duties 
annexed and belonging to said offices, and make whatever inquiries 
in cases of pre-emptive rights, and all other things belonging to and 
concerning said offices ; and that, in order that you may exercise and 
execute our law, all shall co-operate with you, with their persons and 
property, and give you, and cause to be given to you, all the favor 
and assistance which you may ask or require ; and they shall respect 
and obey you in all things, and fulfil our orders and the orders of our 
lieutenants aforesaid, and that in regard to this, or any part of it, 
they shall not place, or attempt to place, any obstacle or hindrance, 
inasmuch as we, by these presents, receive and have received you as 
holder of said offices, to use and exercise the same ; and we give you 
power and privilege, to you and to your aforesaid son or heir, or any 
person that you may name, and to their lieutenants aforesaid, to use 
and exercise the same, in case that any of them should refuse to admit 
you ; and by this, our letter, we order any person or persons having 
jurisdiction in said province and lands, that, as soon as they shall be 
requested by you, the aforesaid Captain Diego de Artieda, they shall 
give up and deliver the same to you, and shall no longer exercise it 
without our permission and special order, and after you to your afore- 
said son or heir, or to any person that you may name, under the 
penalty incurred by those who exercise public and royal functions 
without authority to do so ; inasmuch as we, by these presents, sus- 
pend them, and hold them for suspended ; and moreover that, in re- 
gard to the fines belonging to our exchequer, which you and your 
alcaldes and lieutenants may levy, the same shall be carried into effect 
and caused to be executed by you, and delivered to the treasurer of 
said province ; and we order, moreover, that if yon, the aforesaid 
Captain Diego de Artieda, and, after you, the person who is to sue- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 121 

ceed you in said government, shall understand it to be for the good of 
our service and the execution of our law, that any persons among 
those who at present reside, or may reside, in said province and lands 
shall quit, and not remain nor enter the same, and come to present 
themselves before us, you may, in our name, order and cause them to 
quit, according to the royal ordinance which relates to the subject, 
giving to the person whom you may expel the reason for so expelling 
him ; and, in case of its appearing necessary to you to keep the matter 
secret, you shall give said reasons under seal and cover, and, on the 
other side, you will send us a duplicate of the same, in order that we 
may be informed accordingly ; but you will bear in mind that when 
you shall have occasion to expel any one from the country, unless it 
be without any great cause, and to exercise said offices, we give you 
full power, with all the rights incident, dependent, and annexed to 
the same ; and it is our pleasure and will that you have and receive 
for salary, each year of your government aforesaid, two thousand 
ducats, of the value of three hundred and seventy- five maravedis a 
piece, which you will enjoy from the day that you sail from the port 
of San Lucar de Barrameda, or from the city of Cadiz, in pursuit of 
your voyage, and for all future time that you shall hold said govern- 
ment ; which salary we order our functionaries of said province of 
Costa Kica, and the lands appertaining thereto, to give and pay you 
yearly, out of the revenues and produce which in any way shall be- 
long to us in said province and government, and, there being no re- 
venue nor produce to be collected, we shall not be bound to cause you 
to be paid anything ; and it is our will and pleasure that the same 
salary shall be had and received with the government and captaincy- 
general aforesaid by your said son or heir, or any person that you 
shall name and who shall succeed in said charge ; and that he enjoy 
said salary from the day that he shall be received and commence to 
use and exercise said offices, and to all future time of their holding 
the same ; and that our functionaries aforesaid shall take your and 
their receipts of payment, with which, and with the copy of this our 
decree, signed by a public notary, I order that whatever shall be given 
and paid in conformity with the same be received and audited, and 
that no one shall do anything contrary to this provision in any way 
whatever. 

Given at Aranjuez, the 18th of February, 1574. 

I, THE KING. 

By order of his majesty. 

ANTONIO DE ERASO. 

Signed by the president. 

JUAN DE OVANDO. 

The above is a faithful copy of the document referred to, kept in 
this archive under my charge ; and in testimony thereof I sign these 
presents, in six pages of the fourth seal, with my usual signature, in 
Seville, the 19th of August, 1850. 

ANICETO DE LA HIGUERA, 

Busqueda certificate and papers, 73. 



122 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

D. Manuel de Podio Valero, first officer of government of this prov- 
ince, and secretary ad interim of the same : 

I certify that the foregoing document has been issued by the keeper 
of the archives of the general of the Indies of this city, and that the 
signature attached to it is the same as that which he is wont to affix in 
his writings, and is known as his ; and I sign these presents for the 
proper effects, in Seville, the 2d of September, 1850. 

MANUEL DE PODIO Y YALEEO. 

Y. B.: 

Oanestany. [l. s.] 

The under secretary of the government of the kingdom : 
I certify that Don Manuel de Podio y Valero, by whom the forego- 
ing certificate is issued, is such secretary of the government of the 
province of Seville, and that the signature attached to it is the same 
that he uses in all his writings ; and in order to subserve the proper 
ends of justice, I issue the present with the approval of the most ex- 
cellent minister of the government, at Madrid, the 10th of September, 
1850. 

JUAN DE LA CKUZ OSES. 
Vo. Bo. : 

San Luis. 

[L. S.] 

Don Antonio Caballero, knight grand cross of the royal American 
order of Isabel the Catholic ; commander of the order of Charles the 
Third ; knight of the illustrious and military order of St. John of 
Jerusalem ; commander of the legion of honor of France, &c. ; secre- 
tary to her Majesty for signing decrees, and under secretary of the 
department of state, &c, &c. : 

I certify that Don Juan de la Cruz Oses, by whom the foregoing 
document is authenticated, is such under secretary in the department 
of the government of the kingdom, and his the signature affixed at 
the end ; and in testimony thereof I issue this present, in Madrid, on 
the 12th of September, 1850. 

ANTONIO CABALLEEO. 

[sealed.] 



C. 

[Translation.] 

Report sent by Don Diego de la Haya, Governor of Costa Bica, to the 
court of Spain, in 1719. 

I, Don Aniceto de la Higuera, of the college of advocates, and of 
the economical association of the friends of the country of Seville, 
secretary of her Majesty, and honorary auditor of war and marine, 
and keeper of the archives of the Indian bureau in said city, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 123 

Certify : That there having been addressed to me by the most excel- 
lent Count of San Luis, secretary of state, and of the department of 
government of the kingdom, the royal order made at Madrid on the 
twenty-seventh of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, which, 
copied word for word, says as follows : 

" Bureau of Foreign Affairs, 

" Madrid, May 21, 1850. 

" Her Majesty the Queen has thought proper to grant permission to 
Don Felipe Molina, minister plenipotentiary of Costa Kica at this court, 
either in person or through the medium of some one empowered by 
him, to assist in ascertaining from the archives of that office the bound- 
aries of said republic, comprising the ancient province of the same 
name, and the district of Nicoya, where the captaincy-general of Guate- 
mala formerly existed, ordering that, as occasion requires, there be 
freely delivered to said plenipotentiary copies of such documents as are 
not reserved, which' may tend to establish the boundary lines referred 
to. I inform you of this by royal order, for the purposes to which it 
applies, and as additional to that of the nineteenth of the present 
month. God preserve you many years. 

" SAN LUIS, 
" The Archive-keeper General of the Indies, Seville." 

Senor Don Jose Maria Gutierrez, honorary secretary of her Majesty, 
and agent of Senor Don Felipe Molina, minister plenipotentiary of 
Costa Kica, having presented himself before me at the same time, I 
exhibited to him the bundle of papers preserved among these archives, 
inscribed : " Office of the Secretary of New Spain. Secular. Court 
of Appeal of Guatemala. Letters and records from the governors and 
magistrates of said judicial district." From the year one thousand 
six hundred and sixty-two, until the year one thousand seven hundred 
and sixty ; and among the papers therein contained, there has been 
pointed out to me, for the purpose of making this certificate, the record 
of the letter transmitted by the governor of the province of Costa Eica, 
Don Diego de la Haya, which is, word for word, as follows : 

LETTER OF THE GOVERNOR. 

" Cartago, March 15, 1719. 
" Sir : From the time I took possession of the government of this 
province of Costa Rica, I took the greatest care and pains to ascertain 
its condition, and what was most needful for its security, for which pur- 
pose I have drawn up (in compliance with my duty) the report which 
accompanies this ; which, taken into consideration by the high and 
sovereign intelligence of your Majesty, I trust will meet with your 
royal approbation, in order that thereby this province may obtain the 
military force necessary for its defence ; and that I may be the fortu- 
nate man to sacrifice myself in conquering the Thalamancas, which 
undertaking I shall be the first to embark in, for the reason that your 
Majesty is so desirous that these heathen should be converted to the 



124 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

light of grace ; they who, scorning the tie which was most advan- 
tageous to them, rose in revolt in order to live for the gratification of 
their passions. God preserve your Majesty many years, as your sub- 
jects desire, and as Christianity requires. 

"DIEGO DE LAHAYA." [A rubric] ' 

REPORT. 

Sir : This province of Costa Kica is situated between two others ; 
that of Varagua and that of Nicaragua — being also encircled on the 
south .by a small strip of the district of Nicoya. The length of said 
province is one hundred and sixty leagues, commencing at the Kio de 
Boruca, (the same which separates its jurisdiction from that of the 
province of Veragua,) and extending to the place designated Kio del 
Salto, which lies between this province and said province of Nicaragua. 
In width it extends sixty leagues, which are to be reckoned from the 
valley and coast of Mathina — which is in the northern part — as far as 
Puerto de la Caldera, where it is washed by the waters of the south 
sea. And the jurisdiction of this province is separated from said dis- 
trict and jurisdiction of Nicoya by the Kio del Tempisque. In order 
to harmonize with the kingdom on the main land, there might be given 
to this province the name of the "Southern Peninsula,'' inasmuch as, 
while that kingdom on the main land forms an isthmus or tongue of 
land of thirty leagues extending from Puertobello to Panama, and 
separates the northern and southern oceans, this province, with an 
isthmus of sixty leagues, separates them in the same maimer, as it 
contains therein other places so narrow, that it is hardly twenty leagues 
from one sea to the other, which, although discovered, are not fre- 
quented, because an enemy cannot easily approach them. 

On the leeward side of this valley is the castle of San Lorenzo, dis- 
tant sixty-eight leagues from the mouth of the Chagres river ; and 
twelve leagues further down is the city of Portobello, and between 
this valley and said castle there are settled and colonized, at some dis- 
tance from the coast, the Guaymiles, Doraces, Chanquines and Tala- 
mancas Indians, and these latter are the nearest to this province ; in 
passing through which may be defined the mouths of the Toro, the 
bayous of the Almirante^ other headlands and inlets, and the island 
of the Tayares Indians, the most warlike in all America, for they have 
no familiarity or intercourse with any nation. To the windward of 
said valley of Matina, and at a distance of twenty leagues further along 
the coast, is the mouth of the river San Juan, at which the city of 
Grenada is being erected. 

To the windward of said port of Caldera is to be found the belt of 
land belonging to the district of Nicoya, which is thirty leagues in 
length and eleven in width, and it merely contains one village of In- 
dians, of all ages and both sexes, who are now ruled and governed by 
a principal alcalde, appointed by your Majesty ; and it is eighty leagues 
from said district to the port of Kealejo. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 125 

The province of Talamanca is contiguous to this on the eastern side, 
which said province is situated between the valley of Matina and the 
mouth of the Castilla de Chagre, at a distance of seventy leagues from 
this city of Cartago, with a road by land, where the first settlement 
was effected on the " Eio de Estrella," called " Our Lady of the Con- 
ception," which was founded in the year one thousand six hundred 
and one, and in the year one thousand six hundred and ten said Tala- 
mancas rose in arms and killed said Spaniards who had remained there 
with some women. In the year one thousand six hundred and eighty- 
nine there came an order for the subjugation of Talamanca, and in 
the same year some priests arrived there, where they remained 
more than two years, having converted many heathens to the Chris- 
tian faith, and from that time they maintained themselves there 
until the twenty-eighth day of September, one thousand seven hun- 
dred and nine., with a small garrison and some priests, upon which 
day they arose in arms and killed the reverend fathers Fray Pablo 
de Rebullida, and Fray Antonio de Zamora ; also, ten soldiers, the 
wife of one of them, and a child ; and information of what had 
occurred having been transmitted to the royal audience of Guate- 
mala, it ordered the governor of that province (at that time Don 
Lorenzo de G-randa y Balbin) to proceed to said, district of Talamanca 
with two hundred men, which he performed in person, dividing his 
force into two bodies, one of which entered by the village of Tuis, and 
the other by that of Boruca, and united at the village of San Joseph 
de Cabecar, (the centre of the mountain region,) where they fortified 
themselves, killed a great number, and carried away to this city 
as many as five hundred and five of both sexes ; of these some es- 
caped, others died, and at the present date some two hundred are 
retained in the service of the Spaniards of this province, the con- 
quest being terminated after this last event, on account of no orders 
having been issued authorizing it. In former years, from one thou- 
sand seven hundred and thirteen up to one thousand seven hundred 
and sixteen, there have arrived at this city several deputations from 
the Talamancas to beg for priests to administer the offices of religion; 
and finding there the Apostolical missionaries, named Fray Antonio 
de Andrade and Fray Alonzo Villarejo, for the purpose of carrying 
this design into execution, they had several consultations, requesting 
that means be devised for effecting it ; but as the city of Guatemala 
was meanwhile destroyed, (on account of violent earthquakes,) all 
negotiation in regard to this subject was brought to an end, for the 
reason that said priests were withdrawn from their college of "Cristo 
Crucificado," (which is in said city,) leaving these aboriginals to 
endure the miseries they had so repeatedly requested to be guarded 

against. 

******** 

The district of Mcoya, which, as I have already shown your Ma- 
jesty, is separated from this province by the Rio del Tempisque, pos- 
sesses fertile lands, many cattle, and trees producing the plantain, 
(which fruit is the daily food of the Indians ;) its climate is warm and 
humid, and congenial to its aboriginal inhabitants, for which reason 
I cannot find any better adapted for that purpose in this province. 



126 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

and for the additional reason that it is more than one hundred and 
fifty leagues from Talamanca, which is the distance between that, on 
the north, and said district of Nicoya, to that of the south. I cannot 
refrain from bringing to the knowledge of the sovereign intelligence 
of your Majesty the little necessity there is for the salary which is 
paid to the chief magistrate of the district of Nicoya, (who is merely 
the alcalde of a village of two hundred souls, or thereabouts,) which 
strip of land, being so close to the district of Bagaces of this province, 
your Majesty might order to be annexed thereto, assigning as the 
governor thereof a lieutenant-general, in imitation of those of the city 
of Esparza and district of Matina, who receive no pay whatever; and 
moreover it would be a great relief to the residents of Vagaces to have 
their community annexed to this province, as they are very much in 
want of drivers to aid them ki slaughtering the cattle, from which 
they extract the tallow to sell at Panama. The same representation 
was made to your Majesty by Don Juan Lopez de la Flor, governor 
of this province, during the year one thousand six hundred and sixty- 
five; and by a royal letter issued from the court of Madrid, on the 
twenty-third of April, one thousand six hundred and seventy- seven, 
your Majesty directed the bishop of the province of Nicaragua to make 
a report as to what was best to be done in this matter, and as I have no 
means of knowing what report may have been forwarded to your Majes- 
ty, it is my duty, and from the information I possess, to again repeat to 
your Majesty how much it would subserve the interests of this prov- 
ince if said district of Nicoya were attached thereto; in regard to which 

your Majesty will issue such orders as you may deem most advisable. 

******** 

For these observations, which I lay before your Majesty, in relation 
to this subject generally, and for what I have remarked especially 
concerning this province, I hope that, comprehended by the high and 
superior understanding of your Majesty, I may be excused for having 
made so urgent a request in regard to matters which, in accordance 
with my duty, I have felt it my duty to bring to the royal notice of 
your Majesty, in order .to insure the better security of the domains in 
this province, and the more speedy conquest of the Talamancas, 
although the double task which I have undertaken in this respect 
may have led me astray from making the special description which I 
intend to make of this above-mentioned province, in order to add 
this little service to the few others which I have already rendered your 
Majesty, at whose royal feet I now present it. God preserve L. C. 
E. P. of your Majesty, as your subjects desire and Christianity re- 
quires. Cartago, March 15, 1719. Diego de la Haya. A rubric. 

The above insertion corresponds, word for word, with the documents 
which are referred to, and are preserved among the archives under 
. my charge ; and for the purpose of authenticating this fact, I sign 
these presents, containing twenty-six leaves of the fourth seal, with 
the accustomed rubric, at Seville, on the 7th of September, 1850. 
Interlined. "Altiempo," "Valga." 

ANICETO DE LA HIGUERA. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 127 

For the search, certificate, and paper, one hundred and fifty-six 
specie reals." ( 

I, Don Jose Oiler y Menareho, secretary of government of this prov- 
ince, certify that Don Aniceto de la Higuera, by whom the preced- 
ing document is authenticated, is, as he styles himself, keeper of the 
archives of the Indian bureau in this city, and that the signature 
placed at the foot thereof is that which he is accustomed to use in all 
his writings ; and, in testimony of this, I affix these presents, (which 
will be certified to by the governor of Seville,) on this 12th of Septem- 
ber, 1850. 

JOSE OLLER. 
Assented to. 

' CAVESTANY. 

The under secretary of the department of government of the king- 
dom, I certify that Don Jose Oiler, by whom the preceding certificate 
purports to be made, is such secretary of the government of the prov- 
ince of Seville, and that the signature which he attaches thereto is 
the same which he is accustomed to use in all his writings ; and, for 
such purposes as they may be required, I give these presents, with the 
assent of the minister of government, at Madrid, on the 18th of Sep- 
tember, 1850. 

JUAN DE LA CRUZ OLLER, [l. s.] 
San Luis. 

I, Don Antonio Cabellero, under secretary of the department of 
state, certify that Don Juan de la Cruz Oiler, by whom the preceding 
document is authenticated, is, in fact, the under secretary of the de- 
partment of the government of the kingdom, and that what purports 
to be his signature and rubric, placed at the foot thereof, is his own. 
In testimony of which, I sign these presents at Madrid, on the 24th of 
September, 1850. 

ANTONIO CABELLERO, [l. s.] 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, May 8, 1851. 
Sir, : Having understood that you intend to enter soon into confer- 
ences with the Nicaraguan minister in regard to the treaty concluded 
by Mr. Squier, the late charge d'affaires of the United States to Nicar- 
agua, with the government of that country, and observing that the 
35th article of the treaty in question contains stipulations which are 
evidently injurious to Costa Rica, inasmuch as her right to the joint 
sovereignty over the port of San Juan, over the river of the same 
name, and over the navigation of Lake Nicaragua is not therein taken 
into account, I make bold to call your attention to that point, and 



128 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

have to request that you he so good as to adjourn the closing of tee 
negotiation alluded to until you have examined at leisure the docu- 
ments which I have presented to-day, and which, I expect, will leave 
no doubt in the mind of the American government as to the justice of 
the claims of Costa Eica. 

I have the honor to remain, with the highest consideration, sir, 
your most obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State of the United States, dc, do., dc. 



Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

[Translation.] 

Washington, June 3, 1851. 
Mr. Secretary of State; 

My dear Sir : In the message which the President of the United 
States addressed to Congress on the 22d of July, 1850, relative to the 
events and the occupation of the island del Tigre by the British naval 
forces, there is, page 180, document B, a literal translation of a note 
which Lord Palmerston addressed to Sefior Castillon on the 16th of 
July, 1849, on the subject of the port of San Juan and the Mosquito 
coast. 

Having been charged by my government to continue the mission of 
Senor Castillon in London, I deemed it my duty to reply to said note, 
stating the grounds upon which Nicaragua bases her rights to the pos- 
session of the territory, which the British government disputes. 

As this reply is not to be found in the aforesaid message, and think- 
ing it may serve to throw some light upon the question, I have the 
honor of sending the annexed copy to the department, with a view of 
its being considered along with the other documents which have ref- 
erence to this important question, in order to effect the objects aimed 
at. The government of Nicaragua fully hopes that, when the Secre- 
tary of State shall have possessed himself of the contents of the doc- 
ument herewith enclosed, he will allow it to exercise a proper weight 
in the estimate of the justice and reason that concur on the side of 
Nicaragua in this vital question of her political existence, and in sup- 
port of her legitimate rights to so essential a part of her territory such 
as the coast and country of Mosquitos. 

I avail myself of this new opportunity, Mr. Secretary of State, to 
renew to you the assurances of my highest consideration. 

J. DE MARCOLETA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 129 

[Translation.] 

London, October 27, 1849. 

My Lord : The undersigned, charge d'affaires of the State of Nicara- 
gua, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of copies of two notes 
which the right honorable Viscount Palmerston, her Britannic Majes- 
ty's secretary of state for foreign affairs, addressed to Mr. Castillon, 
respectively, on the 16th and 17th of July last. 

The undersigned having been instructed by his government to con- 
tinue to cultivate relations of friendship and good understanding be- 
tween the two countries, and to follow up the discussion of those 
questions which may be of interest to the two governments, especially 
the one alluded to in the first of the two notes aforesaid, he thinks it 
his duty to address a few remarks to the right honorable Viscount 
Palmerston on the contents of said note, always excepting that portion 
of it which relates to the debt of Nicaragua in favor of English sub- 
jects ; the latter having reserved themselves for an understanding on 
the subject with the government of the State., through the interposi- 
tion of her Majesty's consul in Central America. 

The bases upon which the right honorable Viscount Palmerston 
thinks it proper to rest his principal argument in the note of the 16th 
of last July are — firstly, that the Mosquito territory did not form an 
integral portion of the Spanish dominions in Central America ; sec- 
ondly, that in the treaties of 1783 and 1786, between England and Spain, 
it was less a question of proving the rights of the last-mentioned power 
than to regulate the relations of British subjects who exercised their in- 
dustry and carried on their trade along the coast with the inhabitants 
of the country and the authorities which the Spanish government had 
established there. 

Upon bases like these, the British government seems disposed to de- 
monstrate the unfairness of the claims of the State of Nicaragua to 
the possession of the port of San Juan. 

That Spain has always considered the territory and the coast of 
Mosquito as constituting an integral portion of her territory and 
sovereignty in Central America is an incontrovertible point, and a 
question which has already been authoritatively settled ; at least it is 
so proved by the law entitled " Becopilacion de Indias," No. 6, chap- 
ter 15th, book 2d — a law by which the administration of justice in the 
kingdom of Guatemala was regulated ; which kingdom literally and 
textually received as boundaries the northern sea on one side, and the 
southern sea on the other.. The tenth article of the constitution of 
Cadiz, of the 19th March, 1812, declared that Guatemala and the in- 
terior provinces to the east and west, as well as the islands contiguous 
to the two seas, constituted an integral part of the Spanish do- 
minions. 

Consequently, that power has always exercised acts of possession 
and of sovereignty over all those coasts, such as the royal ordinance 
of October 18, 1792, the object of which was to establish a custom- 
house at the cape of Gracias a Dios ; that of February 26, 1796, de- 
claring the port of San Juan open to commerce ; that of March 28, 
9 A 



130 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

of the same year, for the purpose of encouraging cotton plantations, 
for building a town in the port aforesaid, and for constructing flat- 
boats suitable to the navigation of the river ; and, finally, the ordi- 
nances of the 5th and 20th November, 1803, granting privileges to 
those who might come to settle at Eio Tinto, at Bluefields, and at 
Cape Grracias a Dios. 

The undersigned does not believe that any argument or solemn pro- 
testations, on the part of the British cabinet, can set aside the legal 
declarations and royal ordinances above mentioned : he knows only 
that England has always recognised the Spanish government, and 
that the recognition of the constitution of Cadiz, of March 21, 1812, 
contained no reservation whatever. 

It is most true, however, that British subjects had previously gone 
to establish themselves on the Mosquito coast ; that one of the gover- 
nors of Jamaica (Lord Albemarle) was the first to give the title of 
king to one of the chiefs of the wandering tribes that overrun the 
territory of Mosquitos ; but, independently of the fact that such es- 
tablishments and such concessions cannot constitute a right, it is also 
clear that, in consequence of certain claims on the part of Spain, ne- 
gotiations were set on foot, which led to the formation of public and 
solemn treaties, the first of which was signed in Paris on the 10th of 
February, 1763, and the seventeenth article of which stipulates, 
firstly, the demolition of the forts which have been erected in the bay 
of Honduras and in other parts of the Spanish territory in the new 
world ; secondly, the guaranties and concessions which the Spanish 
^government had granted to British subjects engaged in cutting, trans- 
porting, and freighting logwood, with perfect enjoyment of those ad- 
vantages on the coasts and other portions of the American continent 
subject to Spain. 

Causes and motives which are already known subsequently led to 
the conclusion of the treaty of 1783, and to the convention of 1786, 
concerning which it would be useless to enumerate the articles having 
special reference to the object now under discussion. 

All these acts, having again received the sanction of the two gov- 
ernments, serve to prove that Spain maintained, and that England 
recognised, the rights which the first-mentioned power exercised over 
those countries ; for how could it be possible that the British g?vern- 
ment would have consented to abide by, and to submit to, certain con- 
ditions and stipulations, and to conform to territorial boundary lines 
which had been drawn by a power in a country which did not belong 
to it? 

It would have been more regular and more rational for Great Britain 
to have treated directly with the sovereign, or with I he government 
of that country, if there had really been one in existence. 

Itismosttrue, also, thatthe word "frontier" occurs in the 14th article 
of the convention of 1786 ; but the undersigned is induced to believe 
that the introduction of this word originated in some slip of the pen 
on the part of the writer, rather than in the existence and conviction 
of such a fact, because that word is flagrantly at variance with the 
sense and the text of the other articles contained in the treaty of 1783 
and in the convention of 1786. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 131 

The term Cl frontier," moreover, indicates certain points of separation 
already agreed upon ; it is a line of demarcation between two neigh- 
boring countries, foreign to each other, established by competent au- 
thority, and by commissioners appointed ad hoc by the parties inter- 
ested. Is there any act of this description in existence, therefore, 
which could be cited in support of the interpretation which the right 
honorable Viscount Palmerston thinks it his duty to give to the 14th 
article of the aforesaid convention ? 

Again : it is generally recognised as a principle, that all treaties, 
besides the signature of plenipotentiaries, must also contain a pledge 
of honor, morally given by the high contracting parties, for carrying 
out the provisions of such treaties, not only in regard to the letter of 
the same, but in relation to the very spirit of the clauses inserted 
therein. The British government was perfectly well aware what 
were then the interests of Spain in negotiating about the matter ; 
nor was the said British government ignorant of the fact, that the 
latter power would not have signed those conventions if England had 
refused to recognise the rights which Spain was exercising over the 
territory and the coast of Mosquito. 

The term "frontier," therefore, which is mentioned in the despatch 
of the right honorable Viscount Palmerston, can only refer to the de- 
marcation of certain points which separate two countries already 
civilised from those that are not so, as it is the case in Brazil and in 
the United States of North America. 

The acts of the governors of Jamaica (Lord Albemarle and Sir 

Dallas) being of a date long previous to the stipulations and 

the treaties mentioned above, cannot serve as precedents for the pur- 
pose of establishing an actual right, seeing that the tendency of these 
very treaties is to destroy the traces of such acts. 

Having already proved that Spain exercised sovereignty over the 
territory in question, and that England had recognised that sov- 
ereignty by public and solemn treaties, the undersigned is of opinion 
that Central America, and especially Nicaragua, could claim to exer- 
cise the rights belonging to them in virtue of the very act of inde- 
pendence, and a possession which has neither been interrupted nor 
disputed until these latter times, without incurring the application of 
the res inter alios, inasmuch as the same could not have been applied 
to the old country. 

And if there is no formal declaration in existence relative to the 
recognition by Spain of the independence of the Central American 
States, that independence may at least be considered as virtually re- 
cognised, since the Spanish Cortes, at their sitting of September 3, 
1836, authorized the government to conclude treaties with the new 
American States, because the political condition of those states was 
considered as a positive fact. 

Nicaragua, then, has been at liberty, freely and legitimately, to 
exercise her rights of sovereignty over the whole extent of her terri- 
tory ; and Great Britain has never dreamed, since the period of the 
independence of that State, until recently, to support what are called 
the rights of the Mosquito chief ; but, on the contrary, she recognised 
the various constitutions of the country, where the boundaries had 



132 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

been legally defined. At the period when the confederacy of the 
States contracted a loan with the house of Barclay, the cabinet of St. 
James entered no protest in regard to the guaranty which was given 
to that house, based upon the revenues of the port of San Juan. 

The right honorable Viscount Palmerston declares, in his note of 
the 16th of July last, already alluded to, that in his opinion, and ac- 
cording to the opinion of several other authorities, the territory of 
Mosquito comprises the mouth of the river San Juan. Admitting 
this hypothesis for an instant, the government of Nicaragua is, and 
ought to be, very much surprised that Mr. Christie should, on his 
own authority, have carried the boundaries of that territory beyond the 
mouth of the Serapiqui, thirty miles above, and as far as the rapids 
of Machuca. The government of her Britannic Majesty is sufficiently 
just and sufficiently enlightened to understand that this invasion has 
been accomplished without any participation on the part of the gov- 
ernment of Nicaragua, which was not consulted on the subject, nor yet 
apprized of the fact, nor even called upon to maintain its rights, in that 
division of territory. The aforesaid government has been obliged to 
yield before the necessity imposed upon it by superior force, although 
in hope that the British government would not turn a deaf ear to the 
voice of justice and of reason. 

If, on one side, the right honorable Viscount Palmerston believes 
himself sufficiently justified in approving and sustaining what has 
been done at the port of San Juan since the 1st of January, 1848, 
down to this day, the government of Nicaragua, on the other side, 
has reasons, no less equitable and powerful, to vindicate its rights, 
with that moderation which characterizes it, and at the same time 
with that persistency of purpose which is derived from conviction, 
and from the justice of the cause it advocates, without giving up 
the hope that its claims will finally be listened to, and duly appreci- 
ated, by a just and enlightened government, which prides itself upon 
its adherence to principles of distributive justice, which do not allow 
an interested party to constitute itself judge of a matter in dispute. 

Consequently, the undersigned is thoroughly convinced that the 
government of her Britannic Majesty will not fail to submit the ques- 
tion now pending to arbitration, to which decision the government of 
Nicaragua submits in advance, as a proof of the desire which actuates 
it to preserve friendly relations with the British government ; rela- 
tions which may lead to a happy future, by developing the mercantile 
resources of the two countries, called upon respectively to fulfil a great 
destiny — a destiny which one of them has already, most fortunately, 
achieved, and which the other might easily attain, if the immense 
natural advantages she possesses, iu every point of view, are not 
stifled in the birth. 

The undersigned is also fully persuaded that the right honorable 
Viscount Palmerston will please to take into serious consideration the 
contents of this despatch, and accede to the propositions mentioned 
above, as the only and most efficacious mode of terminating the ques- 
tion in a manner at once the most honorable for the British govern- 
ment, and the most advantageous to both countries. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to renew to the 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 188 

right honorable Viscount Palmerston the assurance of the high con- 
sideration with which he has the honor to remain his lordship's most 
humble and very obedient servant, 



True copy: 



J. DE MAECOLETA. 
J. DE MAECOLETA. 



No. 4. 

Mr. Webster to Mr. Kerr. 

Department of State, 

Washington, June 6, 1851. 

Sm : On the 3d of September, 1849, a treaty between the United 
States and Nicaragua was signed at Leon, the 35th article of which 
relates to a ship-canal between the two oceans 3 through the territories 
of that State ; refers to a contract entered into on the 27th of August, 
1849, between the republic of Nicaragua and a company of citizens 
of the United States, styled the "American Atlantic and Pacific Canal 
Company;" requires the United States to recognise the rights of sov- 
ereignty and property which Nicaragua possesses over the line of said 
canal, and guaranties the neutrality thereof, so long as it shall remain 
under the control of citizens of the United States. This treaty was 
submitted by the President to the Senate in March, 1850. On the 
19fch of April next ensuing, however, a convention upon the same 
subject between the United States and Great Britain was signed in 
this city, by the 6th article of which it is stipulated that, if any dif- 
ferences should arise as to right of property over the territory through 
which the said canal shall pass, between the States or governments of 
Central America, and such differences should in any way impede or 
obstruct the execution of the said canal, the governments of the 
United States and G-reat Britain will use their good offices to settle 
such differences in the manner best suited to promote the interests of 
the said canal, and to strengthen the bonds of friendship and alliance 
which exists between the contracting parties. 

Although it may be taken for granted that a part of the line of the 
canal here referred to would be in the bed of the river San Juan, or 
on the northern or southern bank of that stream, it is obvious that it 
would have been premature for the United States to assume the guar- 
anty stipulated in the treaty with Nicaragua, until the position of the 
canal had been determined upon. The department is not aware that 
this has yet been done. It is well known, that for some time past 
there has been a dispute between the States of Nicaragua anii Costa 
Eica respecting their boundary, and it is certain that until this shall 
be_ adjusted the United States could not undertake to guaranty to 
Nicaragua dominion over the line of the canal without, impliedly at 
least, deciding that dispute in her favor, and engaging to maintain 
that ^ decision by force, should this become necessary. Though the 
President appreciates the friendship of Nicaragua, he cannot consent 



134 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

even to risk doing an injury to any one of the other Central American 
States, by determining, without due examination, a controversy which 
it may have with any other of those States. If, however, a sense of 
duty were not sufficient to prevent the adoption of such a course on 
our part, the stipulation in our treaty with Great Britain, above 
referred to, makes it a positive obligation. 

On the 5th of August last, Mr. Molina, the minister of Costa Kica 
at London, addressed a note to Mr. Abbott Lawrence, stating that his 
government, fully concurring in the philanthropic views set forth in 
the convention signed at Washington on the 19th of April, 1850, 
was willing to submit the question of her rights over the territories 
in dispute between Nicaragua and herself to the combined mediation 
of the United States and Great Britain, and to regard their joint de- 
cision as final, provided that Nicaragua shall have previously placed 
herself under a similar obligation. Mr. Molina is now the minister 
of Costa Kica at Washington. You will herewith receive a copy of a 
recent correspondence between him and the department upon this sub- 
ject. In his note of the 31st of March, he states that his government 
claims a right of dominion over all the country lying on the southern 
bank of the river San Juan, from the Atlantic ocean to the Lake of 
Nicaragua, as well as on that portion of the aforesaid lake comprised 
between Fort San Carlos and the river La Flor, together with a right to 
the joint navigation of the above-mentioned river San Juan and of 
Lake Nicaragua. If, therefore, the line of the inter-oceanic canal 
should be on the south side of the river, or in the bed thereof, a guar- 
anty by us to Nicaragua of dominion over it would be in defiance of 
the claim of Costa Rica referred to. Under these circumstances, you 
will represent to the government of Nicaragua that this government 
cannot undertake to guaranty the sovereignty of the line of the canal 
to her, until the course which that work shall take with reference to 
the river San Juan and its terminus on the Pacific shall be ascer- 
tained, and until the differences between Nicaragua and Costa Eica, 
respecting their boundary, shall be settled. You will suggest that it 
would be advisable for them to empower the minister of Nicaragua 
here to adjust the question of limits ; and you may add, that it is 
quite probable, if it should be adjusted under the auspices of both 
Great Britain and the United States, that adjustment might be made 
to embrace a settlement of any other question which Nicaragua may 
have with other powers respecting her territories on the Caribbean 
sea. If, however, the Nicaraguan government should refuse to au- 
thorize Mr. Marcoleta to negotiate upon this subject, you will then 
intimate to her authorities that the United States will not regard with 
indifference any attempt on her part to wrest by force from Costa 
Rica any territory of which the latter State may now be in peaceable 
possession. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

J. Bozman Kerr, Esq., &c, &c, dc. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 135 

No. 6. 

Mr. Webster to Mr. Kerr. 

Department of State, 

Washington, June 6, 1851. 

Sir : If an inquiry should be addressed to you, in Nicaragua or 
elsewhere in Central America, as to whether the United States have 
recognised the Mosquito kingdom, or contemplate such a measure, you 
may answer decidedly in the negative. Any other course would be at 
variance, not only with the policy hitherto pursued by the United 
States in regard to the aboriginal inhabitants of the American hemi- 
sphere, but also with that of the European nations who made discove- 
ries and planted colonies there. 

I am ; sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

J. Bozman Kerr, Esq. , &c. , &c. , &c. 



Mr'. Webster to Mr. Molina. 

Department op State, 

Washington, June 10, 1851. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the 
honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note of Mr. Molina, envoy 
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the republic of Costa 
Rica, accompanied by a printed memoir and documents in manuscript 
relative to the boundary between that republic and the republic of 
Nicaragua. In reply, the undersigned has the honor to acquaint Mr. 
Molina that his communication will be taken into respectful consid- 
eration. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to offer to Mr. 
Molina renewed assurances of his very distinguished consideration. 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

Senor Don Felipe Molina, &c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, June 21, 1851. 

Sir : In compliance with your desire, I here proceed to state to you 
what I consider to be the pretensions, claims,, and rights of Costa 
Rica with respect to the river San Juan and the territories in dispute 
between her and Nicaragua. They are as follows : 

The republic of Costa Rica maintains, in my opinion, with perfect 
justice, and on the most clear titles, as her frontier, the whole course 
of the river San Juan, and the shores of the Lake of Nicaragua from 



136 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

the place where that river issues from the lake to a point opposite the 
rnouth of the river La Flor, on the Pacific, including, of course, in 
this demarcation the district of Guanacaste, otherwise called Nicoya. 
Costa Rica likewise claims an equal right with Nicaragua to the navi- 
gation of the aforesaid river San Juan and of the lake, and to the do- 
minion of Port San Juan. These propositions I undertake to demon- 
strate in open conferences or debates with the minister of Nicaragua. 

Consequently, my government is under the impression that no 
inter-oceanic communication ought to he established through the port, 
river, and lake in question, without the consent of Costa Eica, and her 
participation in all the direct and indirect advantages to be derived 
from said undertaking ; and that Nicaragua, when contracting for said 
enterprise on her sole authority, has encroached on the rights of 
Costa Rica. 

Nicaragua, on the other hand, assumes that she has a right to the 
exclusive navigation of the river San Juan and of the lake ; that the 
port of San Juan appertains solely to her ; that the territory of Costa 
Rica does not extend to the southern bank of the river San Juan, but, 
instead of that, ought to be bounded by a line drawn from a point on 
the Atlantic, situated midway between Port San Juan and Port Ma- 
tina to the river Salto ; and, finally, that the district of Gruanacaste 
is a part of Nicaragua, and not of Costa Rica.. 

In order not to make this communication too long, T refer you, for 
the grounds on which the case of Costa Rica principally rests, to the 
memoir and documents that I have had the honor to transmit to you, 
and of which I beg to call your attention to the annexed extracts, 
(enclosures Nos. 1, 2, and 3.) 

Having thus briefly stated what I consider to be the right of Costa 
Rica, I shall venture, as briefly as possible, to indicate the manner in 
which, it appears to me, the difference between her and Nicaragua 
may be amicably arranged. 

The first observation here to make is, that I am prepared to enter 
into an engagement in the name of my government that all the ques- 
tions should be settled by the arbitration of the United States and 
Great Britain ; it being understood that if they (the said powers) differ 
in any point, that difference should be decided by reference to a third 
power on whom they should mutually agree. Spain, from the affinity 
which still exists between the people of Central America and the 
country from which they take their origin, is the state which appears 
to me would, in case of a necessity of any such a third arbiter, be 
chosen with most satisfaction to both the interested parties. 

You may, however, further require from me what I think would be 
the most just and easy mode of settling by adjustment or compromise 
those questions on which it may be difficult to form any absolute de- 
cision. With regard to this point, having already called your atten- 
tion to the fact that Nicaragua has not only assumed to herself the 
sole right of navigating the river San Juan, but has actually granted 
that and other rights appertaining thereto to a company, without any 
consultation with, or benefit conferred upon, Costa Rica, I should 
suggest, in order not to interfere with the great work at present con- 
templated, that Costa Rica should consent to the grant that has been 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 137 

made by the State of Nicaragua, without deriving any benefit what- 
soever therefrom, (it being always understood that she retains the 
right of transit upon the same river,) in consideration of some equiva- 
lent. The first and most natural thing to conceive is that which, in 
reality, offers no point of dispute, namely : the territory to the south 
of the port of San Juan, which I think I can without hesitation assert 
is already indubitably the right of Costa Eica. 

The second would be the abandonment of Nicaragua of her claim 
over the territory of Guanacaste. If, however, it were found more 
convenient for the general settlement that the town now called Grey- 
town., and occupied by the Mosquito people under the protectorate of 
G-reat Britain, should, be ceded to the government of Costa Eica, 
together with a certain territory adjoining thereto, in virtue of some 
concession made by Costa Eica with regard to a portion of the terri- 
tory of Guanacaste, lying on the lake and on the river San Juan, 
Costa Eica would accept this arrangement, though she would do so to 
her disadvantage, inasmuch as she could derive no particular benefit 
from it, for the following reasons : 1st. Possessing as she does a 
legitimate right to the southern side of the harbor, the acquisition of 
the northern side is not an object of vital importance to her. 2d. If, 
after resigning her share in the profits of the inter-oceanic route, which 
is in itself a consideration of immense value, Costa Eica is to give 
besides a portion of Guanacaste, she would have then given more than 
she receives. 3d. The lands of Guanacaste are of a far greater value 
to Costa Eica than the territory on the northern side of Port San Juan, 
because the former are bordering on the towns and cattle estates of the 
republic. 4th. By the dismemberment of a portion of Guanacaste, 
Costa Eica would lose a part of that natural and well-defined line of 
boundaries which she is intent on maintaining, and which has been 
of the greatest consequence since the two countries (Costa Eica and 
Nicaragua) became separate nationalities. 

This last suggestion brings me to a point which is now of much 
importance, and on which you have requested my opinion, to wit : "In 
what manner the question as to the occupation of Grey town, if the 
Mosquito government is withdrawn therefrom, can be arranged." One 
mode of disposing of this matter is tha^t which I have just alluded to. 
Another would be that of placing the port of San Juan under the joint 
rule of the five republics of Central America ; in which case, Costa Eica 
would cede a certain extent of territory on her side of the harbor, -in 
favor of such a union. This plan offers the advantage of affording a 
common object to the alliance of those republics among themselves. 

A third manner would be, that, if Nicaragua could in any way ob- 
tain from Great Britain the transmission of Greytown to herself, and 
from Costa Eica the cession of all those profits that the latter might 
be entitled to derive from the company to which Nicaragua has granted 
the navigation of the San Juan, the State of Nicaragua should abandon 
her pretensions to any of the territories claimed by Costa Eica, recog- 
nising at the same time, purely and simply, our whole line of frontier, 
and our right of transit over the waters of the river San Juan and up 
Lake Nicaragua. As this, however, involves the consent of Great 



138 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Britain, which it may be difficult to obtain, I can only speak of it as an 
arrangement which would he received with satisfaction by my country. 

Before concluding these remarks, I should wish to draw your atten- 
tion to a subject bearing on the preceding questions, and especially 
connected with the general happiness and prosperity of Central 
America, namely, " the expediency of devising some mode, either by 
mediation on the part of the two friendly governments of Grreat Britain 
and the United States, or by the construction of some board of arbitra- 
ment, formed by the different States of Central America themselves, 
for the peaceful adjustment of all subjects of litigation which may 
give rise to unnecessary wars between them." 

I add a short memorandum as to what I know of the Mosquito coast 
from the period of its discovery to the present time. 

I take this opportunity to renew to you the assurances of my highest 
consideration and deep respect, and have the honor to remain, sir, 
Your most obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State. 



Memorandum on the Mosquito Coast. 

The lands on the northern side of the river San Juan, from their 
discovery by the Spaniards to the present date, have always been un- 
occupied. There lies Mosquitia, called by the Spaniards Tologalpa, 
(see Juarros,) which during the colonial period was considered as a 
province, or rather a territory, of the government of Nicaragua. It is 
a curious fact that the Mosquito coast was included in the charters 
granted by the Spanish monarchs to the first settlers of Costa Rica. 
The principal attempt made by the Spaniards to colonize that terri- 
tory was the foundation of the city of Jaen, about thirty leagues 
north of the river San Juan, which took place nearly two centuries 
ago ; but that city was not a long time in existence. I believe they 
never tried to form any establishments on the seacoast, but in several 
instances they undertook, although unsuccessfully, the civilization of 
those Indian tribes bordering on the settled portions of Honduras and 
Nicaragua. 

The insalubriousness of the climate, the scanty numbers of the 
aborigines, and the depredations of pirates, were a constant check to 
the civilization of that territory. It is next to impossible to colonize 
such countries, without rinding on the spot the assistance of plenty 
native labor, or undertaking the importation of Africans or some other 
dark race from elsewhere. 

The river San Juan was known to the Spaniards from a very early 
date, but they only erected two military settlements on its banks, 
namely : the fort of San Carlos, at the place where the river starts 
from the lake, and another fort twelve leagues below, built at the end 
of the seventeenth century, on the southern bank, which was then 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 139 

called " Castillo de la Conception," and at present is known by the 
name of " Castillo Viejo," on account of its having been abandoned 
and fallen to ruins since the beginning of this century. 

Besides those forts, military guards used to be posted in times of 
war all along the river, as far as its entrance into the Atlantic. 

It was not until after the independence in 1824, when the federa- 
tion of Central America having been organized, a custom-house was 
established at the port of San Juan, and a small garrison was placed 
there, and a few people began to collect under the influence of those 
establishments. 

The federal rule lasted from 1824 to 1838, when the Nicaraguans 
took possession of the port and held the same until 1848. As the 
independence was achieved throughout Central America without any 
struggle, and as there did not exist at thst time any royalist garrison 
at the port, neither the Nicaraguans nor anybody else had to make 
the least exertion in order to extend to the port the effects of the po- 
litical change or revolution. That was a natural consequence of our 
general peaceful movement for the emancipation — a movement which 
met with no resistance on the part of the Spanish officers. There 
never existed at San Juan any curacy or ecclesiastical administration ; 
the population has never been so great as it has become after the 
occupation of the place by the Mosquito authorities. 

If England could be prevailed upon to transmit the protectorate of 
the Mosquito Indians to the joint management of the five Central 
American republics, under such conditions as she might think proper 
to stipulate for the benefit of the Indians, I conceive that this would 
be the most satisfactory solution of the present difficulties. 

It is an undeniable fact, if we consult the international treaties be- 
tween England and Spain, and Spanish historians, that the English 
government has for centuries back exercised a certain kind of interfe- 
rence in the affairs of the Mosquito coast. Although the population of 
that territory is very small — not exceeding, perhaps, upwards of five 
or six thousand souls, including pure Indians and people of African 
descent — they are entitled to consideration, and have the right of 
living in a separate community ; but I presume that if Great Britain 
saw the possibility of securing the welfare of the Mosquito people by 
organizing an efficient union in Central America, she would have no 
objection to transfer the protectorate to the Central American re- 
publics. 

The realization of this scheme would indeed require that the United 
States and Great Britain should interpose efficaciously their combined 
mediation, in order to put a stop to all the existing difficulties amongst 
the Central American governments. It would suffice, in my opinion, 
that the high mediating powers should manifest their philanthropic 
views on the subject. 

F. MOLINA. 

Washington, June 21, 1851. 



140 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

[Translation.] 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

[Confidential.] New York, October 30, 1851. 

The ministers of Nicaragua and Costa Eica being convinced that 
the actual state of the questions pending between their respective 
governments is a source of immense evil and injury to their mutual 
interests and to the perfect development of the political and commer- 
cial relations of both, and being desirous, therefore, to put an end to 
these evils, and to facilitate, on their own part, a complete and final 
settlement of the business pending with the British government, have 
agreed to meet and to devise the most suitable means for realizing the 
patriotic object which they have proposed to themselves. 

With this purpose in view, Senor Molina, owing to the relations 
and compromises which bind Costa Eica to the government of her 
Britannic Majesty, has written to the English charge d'affaires at 
Washington on the subject ; and the minister of Nicaragua, trusting 
in the good wishes which actuate the government of the American 
Union, has the honor of addressing himself to the Hon. Daniel Web- 
ster, Secretary of State, to whom he submits the matter, entreating 
him, at the same time, that he will be pleased to interpose his benefi- 
cial influence, and to aid in bringing about the consummation of an 
object which is destined to be so fruitful of advantageous results to all. 

The minister of Nicaragua is of opinion that, if Costa Eica will 
abandon her pretensions to the territory situated on the right bank of 
the river San Juan, Nicaragua would, on her own part, relinquish 
the district called de Nicoya or Guanacaste, and the two governments 
might make mutual concessions to each other in regard to the free 
navigation of their own waters in the interior ; agreeing, moreover, 
to conclude, subsequently to these arrangements, a treaty of friend- 
ship and commerce, which should guaranty the respective rights and 
interests of the parties in perpetuity. 

The minister of Nicaragua has, therefore, the honor of submitting 
this matter to the enlightened consideration of the Hon. Daniel 
Webster, hoping that he will be pleased to favor these negotiations, 
in order that they may be brought to a speedy issue ; and he begs to 
inform the Secretary of State, at the same time, that the ministers of 
Costa Eica and Nicaragua are ready to repair forthwith to Washing- 
ton, if the Hon. Daniel Webster should deem their presence there 
necessary to carry out the end proposed. 

In begging the Secretary of State to have the kindness to return a 
speedy reply to this communication, the undersigned avails himself 
of this occasion to tender him the expressions and assurance of his 
distinguished consideration. 

J. DE MAECOLETA. ■ 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 141 



Mr. Webster to Mr. Marcoleta. 

Department of State, 
Washington, November 11, 1851. 

The Secretary of State of the United States has received the note of 
Mr. Marcoleta, of the 30th ultimo, marked "confidential." He can 
appreciate and sympathize with the anxiety of that gentleman, and 
that of Mr. Molina, for the adjustment of the differences between Ni- 
caragua and Costa Rica. This government strongly desires that they 
should he accommodated upon terms just to both parties, and upon a 
basis likely to be enduring. Without adverting to the nature or ex- 
tent of the obstacles which have hitherto prevented that accommoda- 
tion, it would seem to the undersigned that the condition of public 
affairs in Central America, and especially in Nicaragua, has, within 
a few months, become, and remains such, so far as this department is 
informed, that it is extremely doubtful whether any good or lasting 
results could at present be expected from the negotiations proposed 
by Mr. Marcoleta. It is probable that some of the despatches of the 
charge d'affaires of the United States in Nicaragua to this department 
have miscarried. It is certain, however, that at the latest dates from 
him, he had not been received by the authorities at Leon in his official 
character. One cause for this may have been, that a treaty is under- 
stood to have been concluded between Nicaragua, Honduras, and San 
Salvador, providing for a confederacy between those States, with the 
title of "National Representation of Central America." But neither 
Mr. Marcoleta, nor any other person, has presented credentials to this 
government as the agent of that confederacy ; and this department is 
not aware that the confederacy is actually in operation. If, however, 
such should be the fact, it will at once occur to Mr. Marcoleta that 
any step which he might take, as the diplomatic representative of 
Nicaragua only, would neither be binding upon her, nor respectful to 
her confederates, so long as she acknowledged the validity of the com- 
pact which unites them. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to offer to Mr. Mar- 
coleta renewed assurances of his very distinguished consideration. 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

To Senor Don Jose de Marcoleta, <&c, &c, &c. 



No. 9. 
Mr. Webster to Mr. Kerr. 

[Extract.] 

Department of State, 
Washington, November 20, 1851* 

Sir: Your despatches Nos. 3 and 4 have been received. As those 
numbered one and two have not reached the department, we have 
not been able correctly to understand the position of the contending 



142 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

parties in Nicaragua. You will, accordingly, at your earliest con- 
venience, transmit duplicates of them. 

Mr. J. L. White, the agent of the Atlantic-Pacific Ship Canal 
Company, has recently visited this city, and from the oral representa- 
tions which he has made, the department is inclined to helieve that 
the modifications of the charter company which he recently obtained 
in Nicaragua were granted by competent authority, and upon just 
considerations. The large expenditures of money which the company 
had already made, and the magnitude of the interests, both public 
and private, at stake, seem to have admitted of no delay in seeking 
and obtaining those modifications. If, therefore, their lawfulness 
should be disputed, you will state the opinion of this government upon 
the subject. 

The transit by steamboats upon the river San Juan, across Lake 
Nicaragua, and thence to San Juan del Sur, may fairly be considered 
as preliminary to the construction of the ship-canal, and perhaps as 
indispensable to show the most eligible route therefor. Nicaragua 
will probably derive more immediate advantages from this transit 
than if the canal were to be begun at once without it ; and as she has 
justly considered her future prosperity to be identified with the con- 
struction of the canal, it is to be hoped that the transit, in the manner 
above mentioned, will receive all reasonable encouragement and all 
necessary protection. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 
J. Bozman Kerr, Esq., &c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster. 

New York, November 20, 1851. 

The undersigned, minister plenipotentiary of Costa Rica, begs leave 
to lay before the honorable Secretary of State of the United States the 
enclosed copy of a communication that he addresses under this same 
date to Mr. John L. White, agent of the Atlantic-Pacific Ship Canal 
Company, protesting against the occupation contemplated by that 
company, of certain lands belonging to Costa Rica. 

Mr. Molina ventures to request the kind attention of the honorable 
Secretary to the subject in question, as he conceives that the pro- 
ceedings of the company are in direct contradiction to the rights of 
Costa Rica, and to the spirit of the ship-canal convention concluded 
between the United States and Great Britain ; and at the same time 
evidently injurious to the course of the negotiations opened for the set- 
tlement of all differences in regard to those territories. 

The undersigned takes this opportunity to renew to the honorable 
Secretary of State the assurances of his highest consideration. 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State of the United States, Washington. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 143 

New York, November 20, 1851. 

Sir : With reference to the statement you made to me, a few days 
ago, saying that the association to which you belong was preparing 
to occupy certain portions of land situated on the southern hank of 
the river San Juan, in virtue of the contracts that your company has 
concluded with the government of the State of Nicaragua, I now think 
it my duty to address you this present, for the purpose^ of informing 
you by writing, as I have already done in a verbal manner at our 
last interview, "that such an occupation involves a direct violation 
of the right appertaining to the republic of Costa Kica, who is the 
only legitimate owner of all the territories lying on the southern side 
of the San Juan river, along its whole course; and that in consequence 
of this just claim, the republic of Costa Kica has protested before the 
world, and again protests through my instrumentality, against the 
validity of the grants that the State of Nicaragua has unduly assumed 
the power to make to the Atlantic-Pacific Ship Canal Company, and 
that she will not allow establishments of any kind to be formed on 
the above-mentioned bank_, unless her own consent be previously ob- 
tained." 

The company is aware that the question respecting the sovereignty 
of the aforesaid territory between the republic of Costa Eica and the 
State of Nicaragua has been the subject of negotiations, opened under 
the mediation of the governments of the United States and Great 
Britain ; and the company is also aware that those negotiations are 
still pending. In such circumstances, it seems necessary that the 
company should refrain from every proceeding which might change 
the present condition of the interests at issue between the parties 
maintaining contradictory claims to the same. 

The circumspection that has presided over all the acts of the repub- 
lic of Costa Eica in this aifair, the regard she has had for the State 
of Nicaragua, and the friendly dispositions she entertains respecting 
the Atlantic-Pacific Ship Canal Company, are, in my impression, 
circumstances which entitle her to expect from others all due con- 
siderations, and that her rights shall not be trampled upon in a violent 
way. 

If, on one hand, the government of Costa Eica, listening to reasons 
of an elevated order, thought fit to suspend the course of the contracts 
that had been concluded in its name, and were afterwards duly rati- 
fied, both for the purpose of cutting a ship-canal and for the establish- 
ment ad interim of a transit route by the best possible means — con- 
tracts which it would be easy, even at this late hour, to carry out, 
either with European or American speculators — on the other hand, it 
is not to be presumed that the republic, in any plan of settlement 
whatever, may be disposed to recognise the grants of land made by 
Nicaragua ; although she would perhaps be willing to give to the 
people of that State other proofs of fraternity and regard. 

This declaration will not preclude, that on the application of the 
company, and the government of Costa Eica finding it expedient, 
some lots of land of small extent may be granted to the company on 
the bank of the river for the building of depots, wharves, and stations, 



144 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

according to the agreement which might he entered into to that 
effect. 

You will, therefore, perceive that the present protest has not "been 
dictated hy a spirit of hostility to the company, it being only a meas- 
ure of self-defence and self-preservation, which duty ordains to me, 
and to which I expect due attention will he paid, so as to preclude the 
necessity of other steps. 

It will not he superfluous to inform you that, under this same date, 
I send copies of this letter to the Secretary of State of the United 
States, and to the representatives in this country of Grreat Britain 
and of the State of Nicaragua. 

I take this opportunity to offer to you the assurances of my high 
consideration ; remaining, sir, vour obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

True copy : F. MOLINA. 



Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina. 

Department of State, 
Washington, November 25, 1851. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the 
honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note of Mr. Molina, envoy 
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the republic of Costa 
Eica, of the 20th instant, accompanied by a copy of a communication 
of the same date addressed by Mr. Molina to Mr. J. L. White, the 
agent of the Atlantic-Pacific Ship-Canal Company, protesting against 
the contemplated occupation by that company of certain lands claimed 
by Costa Rica. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to offer to Mr. Mo- 
lina a renewed assurance of his very high consideration. 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

Senor Don Felipe Molina, dc, dec, &c. 



Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

[Translation.] 

Washington, December 5, 1851. 
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of Nicaragua, has seen with pain and astonishment the protest which 
the legation of Costa Rica has addressed to the government of the 
American Union, to the charge d'affaires of her Britannic Majesty in 
Washington, and to the maritime Atlantic- Pacific Canal Company, in 
consequence of having learned from the agent of said company that 
the latter was making preparations for occupying and colonizing the 
lands which had been granted to it by the government of Nicaragua, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 145 

on the right borders of the river San Juan, in virtue of the 27th article 
of the contract concluded on the 27th of August, 1849. 

The undersigned, without entering fully into the merits of this 
question at present, and without reproducing in this place the vari- 
ous arguments and reasons which have already been advanced in 
support and justification of the sovereignty of Nicaragua over the 
right banks of the river San Juan, and the right which consequently 
belongs to said Nicaragua to dispose of those lands, finds himself 
under the necessity of protesting in the face of the world, as he does, 
in fact, hereby protest, against the pretensions of Costa Eica, which 
are not only fraught with detriment and injury to the rights and 
sovereignty of Nicaragua, but which are even at variance with estab- 
lished precedents. 

The undersigned declares, moreover, in the name of his govern- 
ment, that the latter will not allow nor tolerate the least damage or 
curtailing of its well-established rights, and that it is, and always will 
be, ready to maintain them at all hazards, costs, and perils. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to renew to 
the Secretary of State the assurance of his most distinguished con- 
sideration. 

J. DE MAKCOLETA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State. 



[Translation.] 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, March 5, 1852. 

The undersigned has the honor of enclosing to the Hon. Daniel 
Webster, Secretary of State of the American Union, a copy of the reply 
of Lord Granville, her Britannic Majesty's secretary for foreign affairs, 
to the note which was addressed to him by this legation, on the 17th 
of last January, asking for the intervention of her Majesty's govern- 
ment, with a view of putting a stop to the sale of lands, which was 
lately carried on in the port of San Juan, and within the territory 
comprised between the latter port and what are called the rapids of 
Machuca. 

It seeming likely that the negotiations which were suspended in 
July last may be resumed in Washington before long, it will not be 
deemed inopportune that the undersigned should submit some remarks 
to the consideration of the honorable Secretary of State of the American 
Union, which are sufficiently connected with the note of the 17th of 
January, which the undersigned had the honor of communicating to 
the cabinet of Washington. 

Before all, it does not appear to the undersigned that the British 
government has understood the real meaning of that communication, 
in which, abstaining entirely from every kind of territorial claim, the 
10 A 



146 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

undersigned confined himself to simply pointing' out to the British 
government the irregularity of the proceedings on the part of the 
English (not Mosquito) authorities of the port of San Juan, who had 
commenced emancipating and selling certain lands, which the pending 
negotiations would appear to show, "in a political sense," that they 
do not "belong either definitively or legally to any of the parties inter- 
ested, inasmuch as this point of dominion, sovereignty, and jurisdic- 
tion has heen left as depending upon the results of the aforesaid nego- 
tiations. 

The undersigned, in making known to the cabinet of St. James the 
wishes of the- government of Nicaragua to maintain the most friendly 
relations with the British government, appealed to the English gov- 
ernment to interfere in preventing certain measures and. acts which 
were in direct opposition to established usages on similar occasions — 
acts which would, without the least doubt, tend to complicate more 
and more those negotiations which it was now desired to simplify, by 
throwing obstacles in the way of a just solution of the same. 

In his note of the 17th of January last, the undersigned abstained 
from claiming any jurisdiction or right whatever, such claims having 
already been put forward in the various communications which had 
been addressed to the British government to that effect on different 
occasions. 

If the sales in question had even been confined to the lands con- 
tiguous to the port of San Juan, the new declaration contained in Lord 
Granville's note of the 13th of last February might have some show 
of foundation. Far from this, said sales have been carried ou, over a 
considerable extent of territory, about which there had existed no con- 
troversy, nor reclamation of any kind, on the part of the British gov- 
ernment,, in favor of the pretended king of Mosquitos ; so much so, 
that a simple note of Mr. Chatfield, charge d'affaires and consul gen- 
eral of her Britannic Majesty in Central America, alienated from the 
States of Nicaragua and Honduras a great portion of their respective 
territories. This arbitrary act, of which the undersigned had the 
honor of informing in due season the honorable Secretary of State of 
the American Union, was consummated without the intervention of 
the respective governments of Nicaragua and Honduras, without the 
latter being summoned or consulted, or allowed time to prove their 
legitimate rights, and especially against the text and meaning of the 
treaty concluded between the United States and Great Britain, on the 
19th of April, 1850, (article 1st,) which was ratified shortly after by 
the two high contracting parties. 

It is impossible, therefore, to deny to Nicaragua the only efficacious 
resource which belongs to the weak when they are contending with 
the powerful, without paving the way for consequences which would 
be pernicious in themselves and offensive to the law of nations ; it 
were to say that force alone regulates the political, mercantile, and 
territorial transactions of nations between themselves, when, on the 
contrary, reason requires that all should be governed by a due appli- 
cation of the principles of equal justice. 

The undersigned begs the honorable Daniel Webster to be fully 
convinced that, in submitting the foregoing explanations, he has only 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 147 

followed literally the instructions of his government, which is far from 
"being actuated by any feeling of hostility towards those nations with 
which it finds itself happily on terms of reciprocal friendship and 
good will ; and that so far from wishing to weaken those relations, it 
desires, on the contrary, to strengthen them more and more for the mu- 
tual advantage of all, without surrendering, however, those sacred 
rights and obligations in which it finds itself constituted. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to renew to the 
honorable Secretary of State the assurance of his distinguished con- 
sideration. 



Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State, <&c, &c. 



J. DE MAECOLETA. 



Foreign Office, 

February 13, 1852. 

The undersigned, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for 
foreign affairs, has had the honor to receive the note which Monsieur 
de Marcoleta, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from 
the republic of Nicaragua, addressed to him on the lfth ultimo from 
Washington, on the subject of certain facts which are alleged by 
Monsieur de Marcoleta to have taken place at the port of Greytown, 
and which he represents as of a nature to complicate the negotiations 
respecting that port and district which are pending between Great 
Britain, the United States, and the republics of Nicaragua and Costa 
Rica. 

The undersigned has the honor to inform Monsieur de Marcoleta 
that Mr. Crampton, her Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister 
plenipotentiary at Washington, has been instructed by her Majesty's 
government to conduct the negotiations at Washington respecting 
Greytown and the Mosquito territory, which have been so long inter- 
rupted by the want of instructions from the government of Nicaragua 
to their representative at Washington ; and the undersigned requests, 
therefore, that Monsieur de Marcoleta will put himself in communi- 
cation with Mr. Crampton on all points connected with those negotia- 
tions. 

The undersigned has, however, to observe to Monsieur Marcoleta 
that her Majesty's government cannot admit the claim which he has 
put forward to interfere with the sale of any part of a territory over 
which her Majesty's government have always denied, and still deny, 
that Nicaragua has any jurisdiction. 

In thus recording their continued rejection of the rights which .the 
Nicaraguan government asserts over the Mosquito territory, the un- 
dersigned wishes at the same time to state that her Majesty's govern- 
ment earnestly desire to maintain the most friendly relations with the 
government of Nicaragua, and they trust that means will be found in 
the course of negotiations which, it is to be hoped, will speedily be 
re-opened at Washington, for settling in a manner equally fair and 



148 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

honorable to both parties the points of difference which still unhappily 
subsist between Great Britain and Nicaragua. 

The undersigned requests Monsieur de Marcoleta to accept the assu- 
rance of his highest consideration. 

GRANVILLE. 

Monsieur De Marcoleta, dtc, <&c, dtc. 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster. 

[Confidential.] Washington, April 6, 1852. 

Dear Sir : With reference to what you had the kindness to men- 
tion to me yesterday, as to the desire of the ship-canal company of 
having secured to it by the treaty in contemplation two sections of 
land on the Costa Eica side of the river San Juan, I beg leave to ob- 
serve, that having communicated to my government, from the month 
of July last, the terms then recommended by your own good self and 
Sir Henry Bulwer for the settlement of the pending questions between 
Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and no proposition of the kind having 
been, at or since that time, entertained, I hardly think myself at lib- 
erty to take any resolution on the subject without receiving new in- 
structions. 

In these circumstances, I would feel extremely grateful to you if 
you were to allow me some time, in order to refer to my government. 

I hope you will do me the justice to believe that it is a matter of 
deep regret for me to meet with this unexpected difficulty to the re- 
alization of an adjustment which has been the object of my life for 
the last four years, and in the negotiation of which I flatter myself I 
have given many proofs of the self-sacrificing spirit of the country I 
represent. And you may easily conceive that it is with great reluc- 
tance and pain that fl shall, if I must do so, renounce the honor of 
being a party to the negotiation. 

I beg to renew the assurance of my consideration and deep regard, 
with which I, have the honor to remain, dear sir, your humble ser- 
vant, F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State of the United States. 



Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina. 

Department of State, 

Washington, April 8, 1852. 

Dear Sir : I have received your note of the 6th instant, marked 
11 confidential." 

The President will be exceedingly unwilling to be obliged to con- 
clude the pending arrangement without the co-operation and consent 
of Costa Rica. But time presses, and it is necessary to bring this 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 149 

business to an end. Nicaragua granted the sections of land to the 
canal company, to be located on either side of the San Juan. If she 
now consents to surrender all the territory on the south side of that 
river to Costa Rica, it seems quite reasonable that an arrangement 
should be made between the two governments, such as shall meet the 
convenience and fulfil the just expectations of the canal company. 

It is most earnestly to be desired that, upon further consideration, 
you should devise a plan by which we can get over the present diffi- 
culty without the delay which would necessarily be incurred by wait- 
ing for further instructions. I commend this subject with renewed 
earnestness to your attention. 

I offer you a renewed assurance of my very high consideration. 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

Senor Don Felipe Molina, &c, &c, dc. 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, April 9, 1852. 

Sir : I had the honor to receive your communication of yesterday, 
and in reply to it I beg to say, that as an earnest of my desire to co- 
operate with you in the accomplishment of the benevolent and elevated 
design of your government, I will assume the responsibility of agree- 
ing to the stipulation that two out of the eight sections of land granted 
by Nicaragua to the canal company shall be situated on the Costa 
Rican side of the river San Juan, provided that an indemnity be paid to 
Costa Rica ; that the company shall not select those two sections within 
ten miles from the entrance of the River Colorado into the sea, or the 
junction of the Serapigui river and the San Juan river ; and that Costa 
Rica shall retain her sovereignty in regard to the two above-mentioned 
sections of land thus selected. 

The indemnity seems to me necessary in order to make the contem- 
plated convention acceptable to the Costa Rican people, who have made 
up their minds, long ago, to abandon certain rights to the Nicaraguans 
on those very important and essential points contemplated in the treaty, 
but are not prepared to yield this comparatively small and insignificant 
matter. Were I to give my unconditional assent to it, they would be 
apt to regard the treaty no longer as an act of their own free will and 
wise deliberate moderation, but as a constraint put upon them. 

I beg, therefore, to propose the sum of $100,000 as an indemnity, 
to be paid by Nicaragua to Costa Rica out of the revenues that the 
former is to receive from the company. The payments to be effected 
in four, five, or more, yearly instalments, as you may think proper. 
This sum will not appear exorbitant when it is taken into account 
that Nicaragua is likely to receive from the company about $100,000 
every year, before the canal is completed, and that after the completion 
of the said work that amount will, perhaps, be increased to millions. 
One-half of those profits belong, of right, to Costa Rica, but will be 
entirely surrendered by the treaty. The proposed indemnity would be 



150 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

a consideration for "both the two sections in question, and for the cession 
of the delta comprised between the northern branch and the Colorado 
branch of the river San Juan, a cession not spoken of in the prelimi- 
naries of July last, but which I did not hesitate to assent to with a 
view to remove all further difficulties. 

Having thus candidly submitted my views on this subject, and 
hoping that you will be pleased to take them, at your earliest conve- 
nience, into consideration, I have the honor to remain, with the highest 
regard and deep respect, sir, your obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State of the United States. 



Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina. 

Department oe State, 

Washington, April 15, 1852. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of 
the 9th instant, in which you agree to stipulate, on behalf of your gov- 
ernment, to allow the Atlantic-Pacific Ship Canal Company to locate 
two of the sections of land granted to them by the Nicaraguan govern- 
ment on the Costa Kican side of the San Juan river, in consideration 
of one hundred thousand dollars to be paid by Nicaragua to Costa Eica 
out of the revenues to be received by the former from that company. 
Your offer is also made subject to other conditions. 

It is to be regretted that the expectations of your government should 
be so high in regard to its differences with the Nicaraguan govern- 
ment. I had indulged the hope that the proposition contained in my 
note of the 8th instant would, under the circumstances, have been con- 
sidered by you so moderate and reasonable that you would not, by re- 
jecting it, lose the opportunity which it afforded Costa Kica to avail 
herself of the good offices of the United States and Great Britain to- 
wards accommodating the disputes between her and Nicaragua. Inas- 
much, however, as you have otherwise decided, Mr. Crampton and 
myself will proceed to arrange the points at issue between our two gov- 
ernments in regard to the Mosquito shore, and to transmit directly to 
the Nicaraguan government, whose diplomatic agent here it is under- 
stood still remains without instructions, information of these arrange- 
ments, with a distinct statement of our joint opinions of the interests 
and duty of that government. As you are the recognised minister of 
Costa Eica to this government, it would be improper for us to address 
ourselves directly to that of Costa Eica, as such a proceeding would be 
a departure from diplomatic usage. I have to saj 3 however, that a 
copy of the paper which we propose to communicate to the Nicaraguan 
government will be placed in your hands. 

I avail myself of this occasion, sir, to offer to you a renewed assurance 
of my verv distinguished consideration. 

DANIEL WEBSTEE. 

Senor Don Felipe Molina, &c. } dfcc. } &c. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 151 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, April 19, 1852. 

Sir: I had the honor of receiving your letter of the 15th instant, 
in which yon have the goodness to express a regret that the expecta- 
tions of my government, as set down in my note of the 9th, should 
he so high ; and that, consequently, you will proceed to arrange with 
Mr. Crampton the points at issue between the United States and 
Great Britain in regard to the Mosquito shore, and to forward to the 
Mcaraguan government a distinct statement of your joint opinions 
respecting the interests and duty of that government. And you fur- 
ther mention the intention of transmitting to me a copy of the paper 
that is to he addressed to the Mcaraguan government, for the inform- 
ation of that of Costa Eica. 

In reply, I think it my duty to assure you that my government will 
be prepared to receive, with due respect and grateful acknowledg- 
ment, any suggestions proceeding from such exalted sources. But, at 
the same time, I cannot refrain from lamenting my misfortune in 
having failed to impress this government with my own convictions in 
regard to the extent of the rights of v Costa Eica, as no opportunity 
has been offered for the full and mature discussion of those rights; in 
which case, I am led to think that the moderation and self-denial 
of the party I represent would have been better appreciated. 

As the matter now stands, I would only venture to suggest that, 
instead of stipulating a fixed amount of money, a provision might be 
inserted in the treaty or paper to be drawn, to the effect that the 
State of Nicaragua should give to Costa Eica an indemnity for the 
two sections of land wanted by the company, and for the territory 
comprised between the Colorado branch and the northernmost branch 
of the river San Juan. This indemnity to be regulated by mutual 
agreement of the parties concerned, or through the arbitration of one 
of the other three Central American governments that should be 
chosen by lot. 

This solution of the only difficulty remaining offers the advantage 
that it would not interfere with the immediate execution of the other 
arrangements contained in the treaty. 

Eequesting again your earnest attention on the subject, I have the 
honor to remain, with the highest consideration and deep respect, sir, 
your most obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State of the United States. 



152 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS, 

[Translation.] 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

Washington, April 21,. 1852. 

Mr. Secretary oe State: All hope, for the present, being lost of 
reconciling the opinions and harmonizing the interests of the three 
States of Central America, for the establishment of the proposed con- 
federation of said States, Nicaragua, one of them, could not view with 
indifference ihe neglect and the too long protracted suffering which 
her foreign relations experienced at the very time when it was neces- 
sary to act with the greatest activity, and to give an energetic im- 
pulse to the pending question. 

Thus it is that, without renouncing any ulterior project of uniting 
the States under one common form of government, Nicaragua, inspired 
by an instinctive feeling of self-preservation, and despairing of arri- 
ving at any definite result, has thought that she ought to separate and 
resume, with her independence and sovereignty, the direction and 
management of her foreign relations and affairs ; not without a lively 
and keen regret at seeing her exertions rendered fruitless for the at- 
tainment of an object so natural and patriotic. 

In consequence of a legislative decree, Nicaragua proceeded to re- 
ceive, with the requisite formality, the worthy representatives of the 
American Union and of her Catholic Majesty, as well as the consular 
agent of the United States at the port of San Juan del Sur. 

The undersigned, whose mission remained virtually and practically 
suspended while he did not possess from the proper authority the 
powers necessary to continue his mission, has consequently resumed 
his former official position, giving, by this step, the necessary weight 
and authority to the powers which were formerly conferred upon him 
by the government of Nicaragua. 

Thus the undersigned does not perceive, at present, the least diffi- 
culty in his taking part in the conferences or preliminary arrange- 
ments respecting the bases which have to be established in relation to 
the port of San Juan and of the Mosquito coast, and he hopes to be 
invited to them, claiming, as he does hereby claim, the right, inasmuch 
as the negotiations concern directly and immediately the political, 
mercantile, and territorial interests of his government. 

The undersigned does not lose sight of the difficulties which com- 
plicate these negotiations, nor of the opposition which exists among 
the different interests that are brought into question in their discus- 
sion, nor does he fail to acknowledge the advantage and propriety of 
determining questions which hold, so to speak, in suspense the settle- 
ment of important interests, with very great detriment to all parties. 

In the opinion of the undersigned, the principal difficulty, and, at 
the same time, the easiest to remove, is the question of boundary be- 
tween Nicaragua and Costa Eica — a question purely local, second- 
ary, and foreign ; one which ought to be treated only between the two 
governments interested in it ; thus removing one of the principal, 
perhaps the most serious, obstacle which opposes the course, march, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 153 

and progress of the chief question, which could be of very easy solu- 
tion without this serious impediment. 

But, supposing that said complication exists, and that it exists 
through the unnecessary choice of some of the parties interested, 
without reason or justifiable cause ; and supposing, also, that every 
day renders it more necessary to arrive at the desired termination : the 
undersigned, consulting on one hand the dignity of the respective 
governments, and considering the existing state of things, and know- 
ing also the sentiments which animate the government of Nicaragua 
in favor of her sister State — for whose prosperity it entertains the most 
fervent wishes ; for whose happiness and progress it. feels and takes 
the most lively and profound interest — is of opinion that, without 
causing more delay, a final understanding should at once be sought; 
and, with this object, he has the honor to propose and submit to the 
enlightened decision of the honorable Secretary of State the enclosed 
projet of an arrangement, which being duly considered, steps may 
be taken immediately with a view to lay down the clauses and to give 
them a public, legal, and authentic consideration, which shall define 
and irrevocably fix the destiny of all the States in general, and of 
each one in particular. 

The undersigned is fully convinced that the honorable Secretary of 
State will find in said projet the most convincing proof of the desire 
which animates the government of Nicaragua to consult the general 
good ; he believes that said prqjet offers advantages and imposes equal 
sacrifices upon all parties ; and he is persuaded that the means most 
likely to encompass the end in view is a mutual agreement to consent 
to mutual sacrifices. Nicaragua comes the first to submit the proof 
of this self-abnegation ; and if the parties interested pursue the same 
course, there will be no difficulty in future in settling the various 
questions on whose solution depend the repose of the country and the 
development of common interests. 

In the original plan there was imposed, almost by violence, upon 
Nicaragua, through the restoration of the port of San Juan, a series 
of sacrifices most detrimental to its dignity and interests; she was re- 
quired to give an indemnity to the pretended Mosquito king, whom 
Nicaragua has never recognised, nor is disposed ever to recognise; she 
was required to establish boundaries with the notorious king of Mos- 
quito, in a territory which she has always claimed as that which 
formed an integral part of her own dominions, to which she has 
abundant rights, and which rights Spain, a competent judge in this mat- 
ter, has ultimately confirmed by a public treaty. 

# It was imposed upon her that she should yield to Costa Eica the 
district of Nicoya or Gruanacaste on the Pacific coast, and on the At- 
lantic coast the right bank of the river San Juan, with the free navi- 
gation for sailing vessels on the waters of the river and the contiguous 
lake — all this with the greatest disregard of the recognised rights, 
and with well-known detriment to the dearest and most vital interests, 
of the government of Nicaragua. 

In the original negotiation, and on the proposition of Sir Henry 
Bulwer, the minister of her Britannic Majesty, there was imposed and 
carried out a complete denial of the question of right ; thus depriving 



154 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Nicaragua of the only safeguard and defence of her own rights, when, 
contrary to this determination, they admitted then, as they admit now, 
the rights which are claimed by Costa Eica, in order to contribute to 
the spoliation which was attempted to be imposed on Nicaragua. 

It is not, then, possible to admit now this contradiction, without in- 
curring the reproach of partiality and of flagrant injustice. 

If Costa Eica desires the common good, if she wishes to exhibit fra- 
ternal feelings towards Nicaragua, there remains not the least doubt 
that she will agree to the projet which is here proposed ; on the con- 
trary, she will prove evidently that it is not the desire of common 
prosperity which she cherishes in her heart, but a selfish feeling, which 
the present generation and posterity will designate as that of ambi- 
tion — accusing Costa Eica, with abundant reason, of being the favorer, 
the instigator, and prorhoter of fatal intestine discords, and the only 
obstacle that lies in the way of the well-being of two nations that have 
the same origin, like interests, and similarity in their religion, lan- 
guage, habits, and customs. 

In respect to Great Britain, the government of Nicaragua entertains 
the firm conviction that that power is actuated by the most generous 
sentiments — sentiments and feelings worthy of her strength, her 
greatness, and her power ; and that she will not sully her glory and 
her national pride by the recollection of past resentments, nor by 
humiliating, degrading, and ruining a weak State, whose only means 
of defence are no other than the conviction that she possesses in the 
rights that she believes belong to her, in the conscious rectitude of 
her motives, the naturaj desire of her own self-preservation, and the 
duty which devolves upon her to defend and watch over her most 
precious and dearest interests. 

In respect to the United States of North America, Nicaragua ap- 
peals in the last place to the fraternal feelings which unite both coun- 
tries, to the homogeneousness of their political institutions, to the 
mutual sentiments which now reign in the hearts of their sons, re- 
spectively, founded on the one side, and more closely connected on the 
other, by the indissoluble bonds of a community of interests and rela- 
tions. 

Nicaragua, then, must trust and hope that so many and such close 
interests will not cease to have their influence on the minds of those 
now charged with the duty of directing the destinies of this great re- 
public, and that they will contribute by their powerful support and 
influence to a reconciliation of the parties, by causing them to accept 
the means which Nicaragua offers as the expedient best adapted to 
terminate at once differences so serious, of such long standing, and so 
prejudicial to the interests of all. 

Nicaragua comes forward to contribute, on her part, to the common 
stock of sacrifices and abnegation, and hopes confidently that her con- 
duct will be imitated, chiefly by her sister State of Costa Eica. 

Nicaragua trusts, likewise, in the magnanimity of sentiments and 
intentions of her Britannic Majesty, and in the sympathy and friend- 
ship of the American people. 

On the bases contained in the enclosed projet, the undersigned can 
Proceed to discuss and sign the proper stipulations, being almost able 






CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 155 

to assure the honorable Secretary of State that his government will 
not hesitate to sanction them, as he can in the same way assure him 
that in the new instructions which hare been requested, Nicaragua 
will not submit to the long catalogue of sacrifices which had before 
been required of her. 

The undersigned embraces this occasion to renew to the honorable 
Secretary of State the assurances of his most distinguished consider- 
ation. 

J. DE MAECOLETA. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State. 



[Translation.] 

Project and means proposed by. the legation of Nicaragua for a final 
settlement of the questions relating to the port of San Juan, the Mosquito 
coast j and the question of limits between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. 

POET OE SAN JUAN AND THE MOSQUITO COAST. 

1. The port of San Juan del Norte shall be restored to Nicaragua, 
whose government accepts the limits lastly proposed by her Britannic 
Majesty's minister to the country and to the Mosquito coast, to wit : 
To the northward, from Cape Gracias d Dios, following the' river 
Segovia, towards the interior, as far as the parallel eighty-four and a 
half of longitude, and from thence descending in a direct line by west 
until faces the south, to the cape of Punta Crorda, which they will 
reach by a horizontal line. 

2. Nicaragua shall pay such indemnity as maybe stipulated for the 
improvements introduced in the port of San Juan, from the 1st of 
January, 1848. 

The aforesaid indemnity shall not be required to be paid at once, but 
little by little, and by degrees, according as the circumstances of the 
government of Nicaragua shall permit, which trusts in the sentiments 
of justice and moderation of the great powers interested in the matter, 
in order that said indemnity may be reduced to the lowest possible 
figure, in view of the peculiar position of Nicaragua, the deterioration 
of her revenues, and the internal convulsions which have unhappily 
occurred there, especially in latter times. 

3. Great Britain and Nicaragua shall adjust a treaty of peace, friend-* 
ship, and commerce, on the same terms as that discussed between the 
•United States and Nicaragua, with the exception of some provisions, 
which shall determine to the judgment of the parties the particular 
and local circumstances of the two powers. 

4. The United States of America and Great Britain guaranty the 
integrity of the territory of Nicaragua, especially that portion of it 
which is to be occupied by the canal or railway, if the latter should be 
established, and they shall protect the works on these routes of com- 



156 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

munication ; guarantying, also, the neutrality of these important 
works. 

5. Said powers shall also stipulate the numher of maritime miles to 
which the aforesaid neutrality is to extend, at the two extremities of 
the canal or railway. 

Question of limits between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. 

1. Nicaragua shall yield, in perpetuity, to Costa Eica, the district 
of Nicoya or Ghianacaste. 

2. Costa Eica shall desist from her pretensions to the right hank of 
the river San Juan, which shall continue to form an integral part of 
the dominions of Nicaragua. 

3. Nicaragua shall insure to Costa Eica the freedom and absolute 
immunity for the importation and exportation of her trade by the 
rivers San Juan and Sarapiqui. 

4. Nicaragua shall cede to Costa Eica, if this government should 
request it, the land necessary for the construction of a wagon road, 
and for the erection of a custom-house and revenue stations. 

5. Costa Eica shall make a formal renunciation of all sums or 
amounts which she may think herself entitled to claim from Nica- 
ragua, whether said sum be the result of pecuniary advancements, or 
whether it proceed from any kind or species of supplies furnished. 

6. Nicaragua and Costa Eica shall conclude a treaty of peace, amity, 
and commerce, in which there shall not only be stipulated the fore- 
going clauses, but even the free introduction, exportation, and transit 
in the respective territories of the produce of their soil, and articles 
manufactured on the same ; but articles manufactured in foreign coun- 
tries, and the produce of foreign soil, shall be subject to the custom- 
house regulations of the two governments in regard to importation, 
exportation, and transit. 

J. DE MAECOLBTA, 

The minister of Nicaragua. 



[Extract.] 

Mr. Webster to Mr. Walsh. 

Department of State, 

Washington, April 29, 1852. 

Sir : The disputes between the republics of Costa Eica and Nicaragua, 
and between the latter and the Mosquito Indians, in regard to the* 
boundary between their respective territories, have threatened to be so 
serious an obsta'cle to the commencement of the inter-oceanic canal by 
the way of the San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua, that the govern- 
ments of the United States and Great Britain have deemed themselves 
warranted in offering their good offices for the purpose of adjusting 
them. For this purpose Mr. Crampton, the British minister here, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 157 

and myself have drawn up and signed the paper, a copy of which you 
will herewith receive. This paper consists of a preamble setting forth 
the motives for the settlement of the disputes, seven articles of a basis 
for that settlement, and a conclusion adverting to the alternative which 
Great Britain and the United States will deem themselves justified in 
adopting, should their recommendation to Costa Kica and Nicaragua 
not be substantially adopted by them. Until recently, hopes were en- 
tertained that Mr. Molina, the minister of Costa Rica here, would 
have joined in the instrument. The accompanying copy of a corres- 
pondence between this department and him will, however, apprize 
you that, as he has been unwilling to permit the canal company to lo- 
cate certain sections of land granted them by Nicaragua on the right 
bank of the San Juan river, it has been deemed advisable not to yield 
to him on this point, and we have signed the paper without him. A 
motive for this on my part was an apprehension that he might ulti- 
mately object to some of the terms in which the boundary between 
Costa Rica and Nicaragua is described. As it is presumed that his 
scruples were in obedience to instructions from his government, it 
is deemed expedient that a person on the part of this government 
should proceed to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, for the purpose 
of inducing that government to accede to the recommendation em- 
bodied in the paper adverted to. You have accordingly been selected 
for the occasion. A letter introducing you to the minister for foreign 
affairs of Costa Rica is herewith enclosed. On reaching San Jose, 
you will lose no time in presenting this, and in making known the 
object of your visit. For this purpose you will present to the minis- 
ter the document executed by Mr. Crampton and myself, and will re- 
quest that it may be taken into immediate consideration. In order 
that you may be prepared to meet any objections to its adoption by 
that government, it is proper that you should be apprized of the full 
extent of its claims in respect to Nicaragua. It is understood that 
Costa Rica asserts that her boundary begins at the mouth of the San 
Juan, at its conflux with the sea, and extends therein to its source 
in Lake Nicaragua, and thence to a point on that lake nearest the 
mouth of the river La Flor, on the Pacific ; and thence by a direct 
line to the mouth of that river. Nicaragua, on the other hand, con- 
tends that Costa Rica has no right to claim the region on the south 
bank of the San Juan or the district of Guanacaste. From the at- 
tention which I have been able to bestow upon the subject, I incline 
to the opinion that the claim of Costa Rica to the south bank of the 
San Juan is good as far as the mouth of the Sarapiqui river, but that 
her pretensions to the G-uanacaste district will not bear a strict and 
impartial investigation. By the proposition we make to her, there- 
fore, she would apparently lose, in the first place, the delta between 
the San Juan and the Colorado. This, however, would only be an 
apparent loss, when it is considered that the Colorado may be deemed 
a branch of the San Juan, and. as it discharges a much larger volume 
of water than the branch which empties into the sea at Greytown, it 
maybe said to be the main branch of the stream. When, also, it is 
considered that the delta referred to is uninhabitable and otherwise 
valueless, Costa, Rica cannot -justly be said to make any material sacri- 



158 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

flee in adopting the Colorado as her boundary. It is not improbable 
that she has hitherto been influenced in her pretensions by a reluct- 
ance that Nicaragua should have exclusive control of the canal, and 
by an impression that, if the Costa Rican boundary were to extend to 
the south bank of -tfie San Juan and were to embrace the Guanacaste 
district, she might h^ye the canal within her jurisdiction, especially 
as the port of Salinas, on the Pacific, which has sometimes been 
spoken of as the best terminus for the work, would then be hers. The 
Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company have, however, made a 
thorough survey of the region between Lake Nicaragua and the Pa- 
cific, and have ascertained that not only the most practicable, but the 
only practicable, course for the canal will be from a point on that 
lake, within the acknowledged territory of Nicaragua, to Brito on the 
Pacific, also in her territory. Inasmuch, therefore, as there cannot 
be two canals in that quarter, and as capitalists will prefer the cheap- 
est and most eligible route, Costa Pica cannot, in any event, expect to 
have the canal within her territory. As it is probable, however, that 
the San Juan itself will, in a part of its course at least, be used as 
the canal, by means of locks and dams, it is indispensable that the 
canal company should have exclusive control over the waters of that 
river for the purposes of the canal. If, therefore, Costa Pica should 
acquire, by so good a title as the guaranty of the United States and 
Great Britain, the rich and extensive region of Guanacaste at so small 
apparent a sacrifice, it is difficult to imagine why her government 
could reasonably hesitate to adopt our recommendation. 

But it may be asked, why should Nicaragua have the exclusive 
right to navigation by steam on the San Juan and the lake? To this 
it may be answered, that steam navigation was first introduced there 
under the auspices of Nicaragua, in the belief that she had exclusive 
jurisdiction over the river and lake ; that the company, to whom she 
has granted the privilege, accepted it under this impression, and have 
invested a large capital in carrying their grant into effect. If Costa 
Pica should make a similar grant to another company, it would prob- 
ably result in material loss, if not ruin, to that holding under Nica- 
ragua, and indeed to both, and would ultimately lead to ceaseless 
bickering, and perhaps arrest all steamboat navigation in that quarter. 
The competition between the Nicaraguan route, to and from the Pa- 
cific, and those by the way of Panama and Tehuantepec, when the 
latter shall be open, will make it for the interest of the Nicaragua' 
company so to reduce their rates for passage and freight that none of 
the usual objections to a monopoly can be urged against them. 

If, however, the Costa Rican authorities should not acknowledge 
the reasonableness of the plan of accommodation proposed, and should 
persist in asserting all their pretension against Nicaragua, you will 
say to them that this will not prevent the United States from enter- 
ing into a convention with Great Britain to protect both the transit 
and the ship-canal company. Should such a convention go into effect, 
it would, if necessary, be the right and duty of both parties to it to 
use other means than persuasion to induce Costa Rica to abstain from 
trenching on the privileges or interfering with the operations of either 
of those companies. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 159 

It is the President's wish, that if the proposition of which yon are 
the bearer he acceptable to that government, their assent to it may be 
given in a formal manner by both the legislature and president of 
Costa Kica, so that no further reference to that country may be neces- 
sary. Mr. Molina might then be instructed and empowered to sign a 
quadripartite treaty, and might, at the same time, be furnished with 
a ratification of such a treaty, to be exchanged here for the ratifica- 
tions of the other parties. It is highly desirable that that govern- 
ment should dispose of the subject, so that you may return hither in 
season to allow the treaty to be acted upon by the Senate of the United 
States at its present session. 

You will proceed to San Juan de Nicaragua, and from thence up 
the San Juan river to its confluence with the Sarapiqui, and from 
thence to San Jose by land. When you shall have concluded your 
business at San Jose, you may return by the way of Nicaragua, in 
order that you may bring with you any despatches which Mr. Kerr, 
the charge d'affaires of the United States to Nicaragua, may have 
occasion to send to the department. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

DANIEL WEBSTEE. 

Robert M.Walsh, Esq., &c, &c, &c. 



Basis of a Convention for the settlement of the differences behveen Nicara- 
gua and Costa Rica proposed by the United States and Great Britain. 

Washington, April 30, 1852. 

The undersigned, Daniel Webster, Secretary of State of the United 
States, and John F. Crampton, envoy extraordinary and minister 
plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty, having taken into considera- 
tion the state of the relations between the republics of Costa Eica and 
Nicaragua in respect to the boundaries between those republics, and 
between the republic of Nicaragua and the territory claimed by the 
Mosquito Indians, and being mutually desirous that all pending dif- 
ferences respecting those questions should be amicably, honorably, and 
definitely adjusted, do, in behalf of their respective governments, 
earnestly recommend to the respective governments of the republics of 
Nicaragua and Costa Rica an accommodation and settlement of these 
differences upon the following basis. 

Article 1. The Mosquito Indians may reserve to themselves, out of 
the territory heretofore claimed or occupied by them on the eastern 
coast of Central America, a district of country, and the jurisdiction 
over the same, to be bounded as follows, namely: Beginning on the 
shore of the Caribbean sea at the mouth of the river Rama, which is 
(according to Bailey's map of Central America, published in London 
November, 1855) 11° 34' north latitude and 83° 46' west longitude ; 
running, thence due west to the meridian of 84° 30' west longitude 
from Greenwich ; thence due north on said meridian to the 
river Segovia Fantasma or Wauz ; thence down said river to 
the Caribbean sea ; thence southerly along the shore of said 



160 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

sea to the place of beginning : and all the rest and remainder of the 
territory and lands lying southerly or westerly of said reservation 
heretofore occupied or claimed by the said Mosquitos, including Grey- 
town, they shall relinquish and cede to the republic of Nicaragua, 
together with all jurisdiction over the same, in consideration of the 
net receipts for a period of three years of all duties levied and col- 
lected at G-reytown, at the rate of ten per cent, ad valorem on all 
goods imported into the State ; the period of three years to commence 
on the day when Nicaragua shall formally take possession of and 
enter into the occupancy of said town. And the said net receipts 
shall be payable quarterly, or every three months, to such agent or 
agents as may be appointed to receive them. 

And the said republic of Nicaragua hereby agree not in any way 
to molest or interfere with the Mosquito Indians within the territory 
herein reserved by them. 

It is also understood that any grant of land which may have been 
made by said Mosquitos since the 1st of January, 1848, in that part of 
the Mosquito territory hereby ceded to Nicaragua, shall not be dis- 
turbed, provided the said grant shall not interfere with other legal 
grants made previously to that date by Spain, by the Central Ameri- 
can confederation, or by Nicaragua, or with the privileges or operations 
of the Atlantic Ship Canal Company or Accessory Transit Company, 
and shall not include territory desired by the Nicaraguan government 
for forts, arsenals or other public buildings. 

Article 2. It is also understood that nothing in the preceding arti- 
cle shall preclude the conclusion of such voluntary compact and ar- 
rangement between the State of Nicaragua and the Mosquito Indians, 
by which the latter may be definitely incorporated and united with 
the State of Nicaragua ; it being stipulated that, in such case, the said 
Mosquito Indians shall enjoy the same rights and be liable to the 
same duties as the other citizens of the said State of Nicaragua. The 
municipal and public authority in the town of G-reytown shall be held 
and exercised by the government of Nicaragua, but said government 
shall lay no duties of tonnage nor any duties of impost on goods im- 
ported into G-reytown, intended for transit across the isthmus, or for 
consumption in any other State than that of Nicaragua, except such 
tonnage duty as may be necessary for the preservation of the port 
and harbor and the erection and maintenance of necessary light-houses 
and beacons ; and no duty for this or similar purposes shall exceed 
say twelve cents per ton on each vessel. 

Article 3. The boundary between the republics of Nicaragua and 
Costa Kica shall begin on the south bank of the Colorado, at its con- 
fluence with the sea, at high-water mark on said river ; thence along 
said south bank, also at high-water mark, to the confluence of the 
Colorado with the river San Juan ; thence, at high-water mark, along 
the south bank of the San Juan to its source on Lake Nicaragua ; 
thence, at high-water mark, along the south and west shore of that 
lake, to the point nearest the mouth of the river La Flor ; thence by a 
direct line drawn from that point to the mouth of the said river in the 
Pacific ocean. It is understood, however, that Cost^a Eica retains the 
right, in common with Nicaragua, to navigate said rivers and lake by 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 161 

sail vessels, barges, or vessels towed, but not by steam ; but this right 
is in nowise to interfere with the paramount right in Nicaragua or 
her grantees to appropriate the waters of said rivers and lake to a ship- 
canal from ocean to ocean, or from the Caribbean sea to said lake. It 
is also understood that the company entitled the American Atlantic 
and Pacific Ship-Canal Company shall have the privilege of locating, 
on the south bank of the St. John river, four of the eight stations or 
sections of land referred to in the 27th article of the amended charter 
of said company, as ratified by the government of Nicaragua on the 
11th April, 1850. If, however, the said company should desire to 
locate more than the said four sections on the south side of the San 
Juan, the governments of Nicaragua and Costa Eica will amicably 
agree in regard to the terms of such location. 

Article 4. Neither the government of Nicaragua nor the govern- 
ment of Costa Eica shall be at liberty to erect, or suffer to be erected, 
any wharf, wall, embankment, or other structure, or to do, or suffer to 
be done, any act or thing whatever in the harbor of Greytown, in 
any part of the Colorado or San Juan rivers, or on the shore of Lake 
Nicaragua, which shall obstruct the free operations of the ship-canal 
or transit company, or hinder the passage of their boats in, along, and 
through the said harbor of Greytown and rivers Colorado or San 
Juan. And if, after a proper survey of the route for a ship-canal 
between the two oceans, it shall be found that it would be preferable 
for that canal to pass, in part, along the southern bank of the river 
San Juan or the Colorado river, the government of Costa Eica en- 
gages to grant any lands and to afford any facilities which may be 
necessary for the construction of the said canal. 

Article 5. Whereas it is stipulated by the second article of the 
convention between Great Britain and the United States of America, 
concluded at Washington on the nineteenth day of April, 1850, that 
vessels of the United States or Great Britain traversing the said 
canal shall, in case of war between the contracting parties, be exempt 
from blockade, detention, or capture by either of the belligerents ; 
and that that provision should extend to such a distance from the two 
ends of the said canal as might thereafter be found expedient to estab- 
lish : now, for the purpose of establishing such distance, within 
which the vessels of either of said nations shall be exempt from block- 
ade, detention, or capture by either of the belligerents, it is hereby 
declared that it shall extend to all waters within the distance of 
twenty-five nautical miles from the termination of said canal on the 
Pacific and on the Atlantic coasts. 

Article 6. Whereas by the seventh article of the said convention 
it was among other things stipulated, that if any persons or company 
had already made, with any State through which the proposed ship- 
canal might pass, a contract for the construction of such a canal as 
that specified in said convention, to the stipulations of which contract 
neither of the contracting parties in that convention had any just 
cause to object ; and the said persons or company had, moreover, 
made preparations and expended time, money, and trouble on the 
• faith of such contract, it was thereby agreed that such persons or 
company should have a priority of claim over every other person, 
11 A 



162 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

persons, or company, to the protection of the governments of the 
United States and Great Britain, and should he allowed a year from 
the date of the exchange of ratifications of that convention for con- 
cluding their arrangements, and presenting evidence of sufficient 
capital suhscrihed to accomplish the contemplated undertaking ; it 
being understood, that if at the expiration of the aforesaid period 
such persons or company should not he able to commence and carry 
out the proposed enterprise, then the governments of the United 
States and Great Britain should he free to afford their protection to 
any other persons or company that should he prepared to commence 
and proceed with the construction of the canal in question : and 
whereas,, at the time of the signature of the said convention a company 
styled the American Atlantic and Pacific Ship-Canal Company, had, 
with the government of the republic of Nicaragua, a contract for 
contracting a ship-canal between the said oceans, but, for reasons 
deemed sufficient by the governments of Great- Britain and the 
United States, have not hitherto been able to comply with the stipu- 
lation which gave them a claim to the protection of the said govern- 
ments : and whereas no other company has claimed such protection 
on the same conditions., it is therefore agreed that the further time of 
one year from the exchange of the ratifications of this convention 
shall be allowed the said company to comply with the stipulation 
aforesaid . 

Article 7. And whereas, by another charter of the 11th April, 
1850, to the American Atlantic and Pacific Ship-Canal Company ^ the 
State of Nicaragua, with a view to facilitate the construction of that 
canal, has authorized the said company to separate from their contract 
of the 22d of September, 1849, the part relating to the navigation of 
the waters of Nicaragua by steam, under the title of the Accessory 
Transit Company : and whereas the said Accessory Transit Company 
has for some time past been in full and successful operation, the 
governments of Great Britain and of the United States hereby en- 
gage to extend their protection to the said Accessory Transit Company 
in the same manner and to the same extent as by the aforesaid con- 
vention of the 19th April, 1850, and by this convention, the said 
protection is extended to the Atlantic and Pacific Ship-Canal Com- 
pany ; but as the main object of the said convention between Great 
Britain and the United States of America was to provide for an inter- 
oceanic ship-canal between the Atlantic and Pacific, and as that ob- 
ject is still deemed paramount to every other mode of transit, the 
protection hereby extended to the Accessory Transit Company shall 
not be construed to interfere with the right to construct said canal by 
the company which has undertaken to construct the same, or, in case 
of their failure, by any other person or company which may be 
authorized to construct the same, and every grant and privilege con- 
ferred upon said Accessory Transit Company shall be subject to the 
paramount right and privilege of any other persons or company to 
construct, maintain, and use such canal. Finally, these propositions, 
so far as they respect the governments of Nicaragua and Costa Eica, 
are advisory and recommendatory, and the immediate attention of 
those governments to their consideration is earnestly invoked. To 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 163 

insure a prompt decision, Mr. Wyke, consul general of her Britannic 
Majesty, clothed with full power for that purpose, Mr. Kerr, charge 
d'affaires of the United States to Nicaragua, and Mr. E. M. Walsh, 
appointed special agent on the part of the United States to the govern- 
ment of Costa Eica, are authorized to communicate the arrangement 
proposed to those governments respectively ; and unless the aforesaid 
governments of Nicaragua and Costa Eica shall promptly and without 
unnecessary loss of time concur in the general basis of this arrange- 
ment, and adopt proper measures for carrying it into effect, then the 
governments of Great Britain and' the United States will immedi- 
ately, as between themselves, jointly adopt such measures as they 
shall deem advisable to carry into full execution the conventiori^be- 
tween those governments of the 19th April, 1850, and to accomplish 
the design therein contemplated of an inter-oceanic communication by 
canal from the Atlantic to*" the Pacific ocean by the way of the river 
San Juan and the Lake Nicaragua. 

DANIEL WEBSTEE. 

JOHN F. CEAMPTON. 



Mr. Webster to Mr. Kerr. 

No. 11. 

Department of State, 

Washington , April 30, 1852.. 

Sir : The adjustment of the unsettled questions between the United 
States, Great Britain, Costa Eica, and Nicaragua, in regard to- the 
boundary between the two latter States, and between Nicaragua and 
the territory claimed by the Mosquito Indians, has for some time past 
been the subject of negotiations between Mr. Crampton, the British, 
minister, Mr. Molina, the minister of Costa Eica. and myself. Mr. 
Marcoleta, the minister of Nicaragua, has not been invited or admitted 
to take part in them. This arose from the fact that at the time they 
were begun, and until they were nearly concluded, we were not informed 
that you had been received by the Nicaraguan government ; and when 
we were informed by Mr, Marcoleta' s note of the 14th instant that you 
had been so received, there was no communication from him from which 
it could be inferred that his instructions would allow him to join in the 
negotiation upon any acceptable basis. Hopes were for some time 
entertained that Mr. Molina would unite with us in a basis deemed 
reasonable by us, and which we could recommend to those governments. 
You will see, however, from the accompanying correspondence between 
the department and him,, that these hopes were disappointed. Mr. 
Crampton and myself accordingly signed alone the paper, a copy of 
which is herewith enclosed. You will lose no time in laying the same 
before the Nicaraguan government, and asking its immediate and 
serious consideration thereof. You will see that it proposes to restore 
to Nicaragua the port of Greytown and the country north of it as far 
as the Eama river, for a certain consideration therein stipulated, to be 
paid by Nicaragua to the Mosquito. Indians. To this proposition she 



164 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

will no doubt object, "by saying that the Mosquito Indians have no right 
to the territory proposed to he ceded to her, and that it is unreasonable 
to expect her to pay for that "which is already rightfully her own. 
Without, however, either raising or deciding the question as to her 
abstract right to the territory in question, the fact that she has not 
been in possession of it since the 1st of January, 1848, is notorious. 
Her authority over the territory, such as it was, was then forcibly ex- 
pelled, and has never been resumed ; and whatever may have been the 
rights or the motives of the party who performed this act, they must be 
presumed to have been satisfactory to that party, which cannot be ex- 
pected to stultify itself by voluntarily and without equivalent surren- 
dering that which it risked its reputation and expended its blood and 
treasure to obtain. By agreeing to pay the compensation proposed, 
Nicaragua would by no means be chargeable with inconsistency or 
dishonor, but would only yield to the stronger party — a frequent oc- 
currence in the world's history. On the other hand, the compensation 
proposed is moderate in amount, and the time and manner of paying 
it will be made as accommodating to her as could reasonably be desired. 
She will then have full command of the port of Greytown, on both 
sides of the river San Juan. She will also have the exclusive right to 
navigate that river by steam. It is true she has contended for a right 
to the territory on both banks of the San Juan, and our proposition 
cedes the right bank to Costa Eica. The riyer, however, is obviously 
the best natural boundary between the two republics ; and if, as is pre- 
sumed to be the fact, Nicaragua, in claiming both banks, has been 
actuated by a desire to obtain exclusive control of the ship-canal, this 
expectation would not be thwarted by ceding the right bank to Costa 
Rica. It is probable that the canal, for a great part if not the whole 
length of the river, will be constructed in the bed thereof, by means of 
locks and dams. Should this prove to be the fact, the possession of 
the right bank by Costa Rica_, pursuant to our proposition, would 
neither interfere with the construction or the operations of the canal, 
nor with the control of it by Nicaragua. 

We also propose to cede the district of G-uanacaste to Costa Rica. 
As this is understood to be in accordance with the wishes of the in- 
habitants of that district, it is not likely that Nicaragua would find 
it a desirable possession, even if it were to be retained by her. Besides, 
one of her supposed motives for persisting in her claim to Guanacaste 
is the fact that it contains the port of Salinas, on the Pacific, which 
has sometimes been spoken of as a terminus of the ship-canal. In- 
asmuch, however, as the recent survey by Colonel Childs, in the 
service of the Atlantic and Pacific Canal Company, has shown that 
the port of Brito, within the acknowledged territory of Nicaragua, is 
the most eligible terminus for the canal, if, in claiming Gruanacaste, 
Nicaragua has, to any extent, been actuated by the supposed import- 
ance of Salinas, that motive is unfounded. 

It is not improbable that some persons of influence and authority 
in that republic may have been advised that if the Nicaraguan gov- 
ernment shall reject the plan of settlement proposed by us, a change 
of administration in this country will result in a change of policy, 
and that Gfreytown will be forcibly restored to her should this become 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 165 

necessary. Allowing that this information may be correct, it is ob- 
vious that even if Nicaragua were to regain possession of Greytown 
by this means, her own great object, and the principal object of both 
Great Britain and the United States in interesting themselves in her 
affairs, namely, the construction of the ship-canal, would probably be 
indefinitely postponed ; and even the transit by steamboats over her 
waters, from which it is understood she now enjoys both direct and 
incidental advantages, would be put an end to. 

It is to be hoped, therefore, that moderate counsels will prevail 
there, and that the • opportunity now afforded her (which will proba- 
bly be the last one) of peaceably settling the complicated questions 
which have been so long pending, will not be inconsiderately rejected. 
It is certain that the ship-canal can never be even begun until every 
discernible cause for internal convulsion or foreign war in that quar- 
ter shall have been removed. If, however, the adjustment proposed 
should be accepted by her, to the confidence in the practicability of 
the work, which the recent survey is calculated to inspire capitalists, 
will be added the more important confidence that their funds in- 
vested in its construction will not be subjected to risks arising from 
the causes adverted to. 

It is desirable that the decision of Nicaragua should be prompt, so 
that it may be known here in season for a quadripartite treaty to be 
signed here, and submittld to the United States Senate at its present 
session. In order to save time, and prevent the necessity of a further 
reference of the subject to that country, both the legislature and the 
President of the republic should act upon the subject, and ratify the 
quadripartite treaty which Mr. Marcoleta may then be instructed to 
exchange. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

DANIEL WEBSTEE. 

J. Bozman Kerr, Esq., dc, <&c, &c. 



[Translation.] 

Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Webster. 

"Washington, May 2, 1852. 

Mr. Secretary of State: Having seen and read at the department, 
on Saturday, the 1st instant, the communications and the bases which 
have lately been discussed between the Secretary of State of the Amer- 
ican Union, her Britannic Majesty's minister, and Mr. Molina, min- 
ister of Costa Eica, in relation to the port of San Juan, the Mosquito 
coast, and the limits between Nicaragua and Costa Eica, and said 
matters having been treated and discussed without consulting, in- 
viting, or admitting the representative of Nicaragua to such discus- 
sions, so that he might take a part in transactions which affect in so 
direct a manner the interests and rights of his government, the un- 
dersigned would consider himself as wanting in the performance of 
his duty if he were not to protest against that act. 



166 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

The undersigned, therefore, proceeds to protest in due form against 
the exclusion which has been made in these matters of the represent- 
ative of Nicaragua near the government of the American Union. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to renew to the 
honorable Secretary of State the assurances of his most distinguished 
consideration. 



J. D. MAECOLETA. 



Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State, (Sic, &c, &c. 



No. 12. 
Mr. Hunter to Mr. Kerr. 

[Extract.] 

Department of State, 

Washington, May 4, 1852. 

Sir: After the instruction to you of the 30th ultimo was signed, 
the proposition of Mr. Crampton and Mr. Webster was a little changed. 
The only material alteration, however, was, that as the proposition 
originally agreed upon allowed the canal company to locate two sec- 
tions of land on the south bank of the San Juan, the proposition as 
signed makes that number four instead of two. This will explain 
what otherwise might have appeared to you as a discrepancy between 
the number of sections mentioned in the correspondence with Mr. 
Molina and the number stipulated for in the proposition. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. HUNTEE, 



J. Bozman Kerr, Esq., &c, &c, &c. 



Acting Secretary. 



Mr. Hunter to Mr. Walsli. 

Department of State, 

Washington, May 4, 1852. 

Sir: After the instruction to you of the 29th ultimo was signed, a 
slight alteration was made in the proposition signed by Mr. Webster 
and Mr. Crampton, giving to the canal company the right to locate 
four instead of two sections of land on the Costa Eican side of the 
river. This will explain what otherwise might have appeared as a 
discrepancy between the number of sections mentioned in the corre- 
spondence with Mr. Molina and those mentioned in the proposition 
itself. 

It is not, however, by any means certain that the canal company 
will ultimately find it for their interest to locate, perhaps, more than 
one section on that bank. If, however, the reverse should prove to be 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 167 

the fact, as Costa Kica will have jurisdiction over the whole,, and as 
the lands reserved by her will he increased in value in direct propor- 
tion to those which maybe occupied by the company, she will unques- 
tionably consult her true interest by agreeing to the proposition as it 
stands. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. HUNTER, 

Acting Secretary. 
Egbert M. Walsh, Esq., &c, &c. 



Mr. Hunter to Mr. Molina. 

Department op State, 

Washington, May 5, 1852. 

Sir : I have the honor to communicate a copy of the proposition to 
be addressed to the governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, re- 
spectively, for the adjustment of their differences in regard to the 
boundary between those republics, a,s finally agreed upon and signed 
by Mr. "Webster and Mr. Crampton. You will notice that this propo- 
sition differs from the one in which you were invited but declined to 
join, inasmuch as it allows the canal company to locate four instead 
of two only of their- eight sections of land on the Costa Rican side of 
the San Juan river. Although your refusal to co-operate in the re- 
commendation was understood to be based upon the fact that your 
instructions did not warrant you in agreeing to permit the company 
to locate any of their lands on the south side of the river without a 
specific equivalent therefor to Costa Rica, it is hoped that your gov- 
ernment, on maturely weighing all the circumstances of the case, will 
ultimately agree to allow even the four sections adverted to to be lo- 
cated there. .In the first place, it may be considered questionable 
whether the company will deem it to comport with their interest to 
locate, perhaps, more than one section on the right bank of the San 
Juan. - In the next place, even if they were to locate four sections 
there, the lands themselves, and the persons occupying or living on 
them, would be subject to the laws of Costa Rica. It is notorious, 
however, that the lands have not now any appreciable value. Their 
future value will be in direct proportion to the amount of capital and 
skill which may be applied to the development of their resources. 
If, therefore, the company should apply capital and skill to the culti- 
vation of the sections allotted to them, this, besides raising the value 
of the lands reserved by Costa Rica, will give her an important source 
of direct revenue and other incidental advantages. These and other 
obvious considerations are commended to your candid consideration, 
and to that of your government. 

I avail myself of this occasion, sir, to offer to you an assurance of 
my very high consideration. 



Senor Don Felipe Molina, dc, dc. } &c. 



W. HUNTER, 

Acting Secretary. 



168 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Hunter. 

Legation of Costa Eica, 

Washington, May 8, 1852. 

Sir : I have tlie honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 5th instant, accompanying a copy of the proposition to be ad- 
dressed to the governments of Costa Kica and Nicaragua, respectively, 
for the adjustment of their differences in regard to the boundary ques- 
tion between those republics^ as was finally agreed upon and signed 
by Mr. Webster and Mr. Crampton. 

You very appropriately remark, that this plan differs from the one 
in which I was invited but declined to join, inasmuch as it allows the 
canal company to locate four instead of two only of their eight sec- 
tions of land on the Costa Eican side of the San Juan river ; and 
thereupon you kindly proceed to enlarge on those considerations 
which, in your opinion, might induce the Costa Eican government 
to accede to the concession, even in this extended form. 

In reply, I beg to say that I will take the earliest opportunity to 
transmit the project in question to my government, together with a 
copy of your letter, that new instructions may be sent to me. 

I regret, nevertheless, to observe that the proposed adjustment in- 
volves a far greater difficulty than even the cession (without any in- 
demnity or restriction of choice) of the lands alluded to ; I mean the 
perpetual surrender therein stipulated, on the part of Costa Eica, of 
her right to navigate by steam-vessels the Colorado and San Juan 
rivers, and the Lake of Nicaragua. I question very much whether 
Costa Eica will ever be disposed to subscribe to an absolute surrender 
of that right, although, in order to facilitate the construction of the 
ship -canal, she has been and is still willing to abandon to Nicaragua 
the control and direct advantages of the enterprise for such a period 
of years as may seem necessary to carry out that undertaking. 

I have the honor to renew to you the assurance of my most dis- 
tinguished consideration. 

F. MOLINA. 

William Hunter, Esq., 

Acting Secretary of State of the United States. 



No. 13. 

Mr. Hunter to Mr. Kerr. 

Department of State, 

Washington, May 13, 1852. 

Sir : Since the last despatch to you on the subject, it has occurred 
to Mr. Crampton and myself that, if the following two slight modifi- 
cations of the proposition to Nicaragua and Costa Eica shall be made, 
its chances of ultimate success will be much increased. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 169 

Towards the close of article 1, after the words "in that part of 
the Mosquito territory hereby ceded to Nicaragua/' insert the follow- 
ing : " which grants shall have been attended with residence on or 
possession of the lands granted." After the words " interfere with," 
strike out the words "other legal grants made previously to that 
date by Spain, by the Central American confederation, or by Nicara- 
gua." 

To article 3 add the following: "But it is understood that 
nothing in this article contained shall prevent the republic of Costa 
Eica from resuming its right to navigate the said rivers and lake by 
steam-vessels, when the charters of the Atlantic and Pacific Ship 
Canal Company or Accessory Transit Company shall either have ex- 
pired by their own limitation or shall have been legally forfeited." 

You will accordingly propose these modifications to the Nicaraguan 
government. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. HUNTER, 

Acting Secretary,. 

J. Bozman Kerr, Esq., dtc., dtc., dtc. 



Mr. Hunter to Mr. Molina. 

Department of State, 

Washington, May 19, 1852. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of 
the 8th instant. 

If, as you remark, Costa Eica should entertain insurmountable ob- 
jections to a surrender, in perpetuity, of the privilege of navigating 
the Colorado and San Juan rivers and Lake Nicaragua by steam-ves- 
sels, it is presumed that she could not reasonably object to enter into 
a stipulation promising a surrender of the same until the charters of 
the Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Clompany and of the Accessory 
Transit Company shall either have expired by their own limitation or 
shall have been legally forfeited. As the principal purpose of the 
United States and Great Britain, in proposing to give to Nicaragua 
the exclusive right to steam-navigation on that lake and those rivers, 
was to protect franchises acquired in good faith from Nicaragua, if 
that purpose could be accomplished, no good reason is perceived why 
that right should not be limited to the duration of the franchises 
referred to. 

I avail myself of this occasion, sir, to offer to you a renewed assur- 
ance of my very high consideration. 

W. HUNTER, 

Acting Secretary, 

Senor Don Felipe Molina, dec, dec, dec 



170 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

No. 1. 

Mr, Walsh to Mr. Webster. 

Greytown, May 28, 1852. 

Sir : "We arrived here in the Saranac the 25th, and will proceed to 
San Jose as soon as we can make our preparations for the long and 
arduous journey before us — a journey, for the most part, through a 
wilderness, which compels the traveller to take with him everything- 
that may be needed on the way. "We hope to be off the day after 
to-morrow, though the listlessness of the people with whom we have 
to deal will take its own time, in spite of every effort to stimulate it. 
The prices, also, demanded for boats and mules are so extortionate as 
almost to exceed belief. Unfortunately, the water in the river San 
Juan is now so low that steamers cannot run, and we find ourselves 
obliged to employ the row-boats of the country — a necessity product- 
ive of delay as well as of inconvenience and expense. The chief 
impediment, however, has been the difficulty of procuring mules to 
be in readiness for us at the spot where the Serapiqui ceases to be 
navigable. I greatly regret the detention on all accounts. 

The flag of the Mosquito king is still flying here, but that is the only 
evidence of his sovereignty. The control of the town is in the hands 
of the foreign residents, principally Americans, who recently elabo- 
rated a constitution for themselves and elected a complete set of author- 
ities. The natives were allowed to vote, and two or three of them 
obtained majorities for certain offices, but on some pretext of illegality 
their election was annulled. Upon what ground that illegality was 
established, was not made clear to the apprehension of the natives, 
who in consequence were with difficulty restrained from expressing 
their dissatisfaction in a belligerent manner. The practical interpre- 
tation would seem to be, that the fact of being born here is a disquali- 
fication for being elected, if not for electing ; and that only those who 
do not labor under this disadvantage are entitled to all the privileges 
of citizenship. The mayor is an American named Martin, who ap- 
pears to possess a kind of energy and talent well adapted to his anoma- 
lous and difficult position — a position in which justice, while wielding 
her sword with one hand, is obliged to point a revolver with the other. 
He has just won considerable credit by the mode in which he discovered 
and brought to justice the perpetrators of a robbery of a large sum of 
money from a Frenchman, who arrived here the other day on his return 
from California. A part of the money has already been recovered, 
and hopes are entertained of finding the rest. The excitement among 
"the Californians," of whom there is a numerous body now here 
waiting for the next steamer, assumed for a time quite a threatening 
aspect. They were apprehensive that the robbers would not be prop- 
erly dealt with, and seemed determined upon taking justice into their 
own hands ; but the regular way in which the trial was conducted re- 
moved their suspicions, and the ultimate conviction of the culprits 
re-established peace. Two or three of the gang are, I believe, to be 
hung, and minor punishments will be inflicted on others. The whole 



CENTRAL AMEEICAN AFFAIRS. 171 

action of the court was under the authority of the new constitution, 
which completely ignores the dominion and laws of the indigenous 
aspirants to the sovereignty of the town. 

The framers of this constitution would seem to cherish views of an 
eminently progressive nature ; for in the article defining the limits of 
the embryo metropolis;, it is declared that they "commence at the mouth 
of the Indian river, thence run up through the channel of said river 
fifteen miles, thence in a direct line so as to include the head of the 
Machuca rapids, thence down the San Juan river to its junction with 
the Colorado, thence down the channel of the Colorado to the Carib- 
bean sea" — an area of some fifty or sixty square miles ! The object 
of the foreigners here is avowedly to establish a free port, with as much 
circumjacent territory as possible, and they loudly proclaim that they 
will never submit to the rule of any native power. To Nicaragua 
they bear especial hate, which may prove a source of trouble in the 
execution of the treaty, should it be concluded. It is almost certain 
that, without some such aid as the treaty would afford, that country 
will never be able to obtain possession of the town, for there can be 
little doubt of the ability of the inhabitants to repel any attack. In- 
deed, if the stories told of the weakness and degradation of the 
Mcaraguans be true, one may easily credit the assertion of the u Grey- 
to wners," that they can take the whole republic whenever they please. 
A step towards this result may, perhaps, be the appropriation of the 
district marked out by the article of the constitution alluded to above. 
Coming events cast their shadows too plainly in this quarter to need 
a prophet's eye to discern them. 

I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

EOBEET M. WALSH. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State*. 



No. 2. 

Mr. Walsh to Mr. Webster. 

San Jose, June 11, 1852. 

Sir: We left C-reytown on the 31st ultimo, and got here the 8th 
instant, after a journey of which it would be difficult to describe the 
fatigue and the risks. Four days and three nights were spent in the 
boat in which we were rowed to the landing-place of the Serapiqui, 
and four days and a half in crossing the mountains to this place — 
scrambling up and down precipices of most formidable aspect, or 
wading through quagmires from which extrication, at times, seemed 
to be almost impossible. 

It will be out of the question for Costa Eica to cultivate much in- 
tercourse with the foreign world until a road is constructed to the 
Serapiqui. At the landing-place there is a sort of military post, 
where we were received by the officer in command with all due cour- 
tesy, and had the satisfaction of finding mules and men to carry our 



172 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

luggage and provisions, sent by the government itself, which had 
been apprized of our corning by the messenger we had despatched to 
procure the means of transport. "When within a few miles of this 
city, we were met by an aide-de-camp of the president, with a note 
from him, congratulating us on our arrival, and placing a house at 
our service, to which we were immediately conducted. It is among 
the best in the town, belonging to one of the principal families, who 
moved from it expressly for our accommodation — an act of hospitality 
and kindness well deserving of record. There is evidently a disposi- 
tion to manifest all possible friendliness, both public and private ; the 
mission being regarded not only as a compliment, but as something 
from which good may accrue to the country. 

We have had interviews with the president and minister of foreign 
relations, and have sent to the latter a copy of the proposed arrange- 
ment, with alterations directed to be made in it by the despatch of 
13th May, from the acting Secretary of State. There are good grounds, 
I think, for expecting a prompt acquiescence in the views of the two 
governments, 

I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

EOBEET M. WALSH. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State. 



No. 3. 
Mr. Walsh to Mr. Webster. 

San Jose, June 25, 1852. 

Sir : Enclosed are copies of correspondence with the minister of 
foreign relations, and a decree of the legislative body, approved by the 
president, from which you will perceive that the government of Costa 
Eica has given its full consent to the proposed treaty. The modifi- 
cations suggested in the last note of the minister are mere requests, 
in no way affecting that consent. They were discussed in our confer- 
ences, but we could only promise to communicate them to our govern- 
ments with a recommendation of them to their kindly consideration. 
This government seems to be animated in all respects with the very 
best spirit, on which too much praise can scarcely be bestowed. 

We shall proceed to Nicaragua without delay. If not unexpectedly 
detained there, I may be able to return to Washington by the end of 
next month, taking with me the originals of the documents above 
mentioned. 

I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

EOBEET M. WALSH. 

Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 173 

San Jose, June 16, 1852. 

The undersigned, commissioners of the United States and Great 
Britain, have the honor to enclose to his excellency the minister of 
foreign relations a copy of the propositions which they are directed 
hy their governments to offer for the adjustment of the difficulties in 
regard to limits between the republics of Costa Kica and Nicaragua. 
It was after full investigation and mature deliberation that the two 
governments determined upon these propositions as most conducive 
to the ends of justice and the interests of the contending parties ; and 
they cherish the confident hope that they will be promptly and 
willingly accepted. 

The advantages to Costa Eica which will accrue from their accept- 
ance are various and all-important. She will be relieved, in the first 
place, from that state of harassing agitation which the perpetual 
danger of foreign hostilities must keep up, and which is so baleful in 
its influence upon the industry and progress of the people. Men care 
not to work for the future, when that future is clouded over with un- 
certainty and apprehension. To remove an evil of such magnitude, 
great sacrifices may well be authorized ; and were no other inducement 
presented, this alone would be sufficiently strong to call for a ready 
acquiescence in any arrangement which secures the blessings of tran- 
quillity without the loss of honor. 

But Costa Eica, in the next place, is not asked to make any con- 
cessions for which adequate compensation is not tendered. If she 
abandons some of her pretensions on the Atlantic, she establishes all 
of her pretensions on the Pacific. If she yields the barren delta of 
the Colorado, she gains the fertile district of Gruanacaste. Even on 
the Atlantic side, also, she obtains the acknowledgment of an import- 
ant right which she has not hitherto been able to enjoy — that of 
having the river San Juan for her boundary, and navigating it with 
all descriptions of vessels which do not interfere with the indispensa- 
ble privileges of the company that has been formed for the construc- 
tion of the inter-oceanic canal. 

Again, a cheerful compliance with the proposals of the two govern- 
ments will have the effect of awakening in them sentiments of kind- 
ness towards this country, which cannot fail to be attended with great 
and increasing benefit. The time is manifestly at hand when the 
relations between Costa Eica and the other nations of the earth are 
to be placed on a new and more elevated footing — when the compar- 
ative seclusion in which she has heretofore dwelt is to be exchanged 
for that intercourse with the world which it is the interest and the 
duty of every government to promote, as one of the chief guardians 
of civilization and the firmest bond of brotherhood among men. Of 
the friendly ties which will thus be formed, the most important cer- 
tainly must be those which will connect her with Great Britain and 
the United States — countries whose position and influence point them 
out^ as allies from whose good offices the most useful aid may be 
derived. 

The advantage that will result to Costa Eica from the construction 
of the canal should also be taken into account. To over-estimate it, 



174 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

indeed, would be difficult. The door will be at once opened to the 
beneficial intercourse alluded to above, and the whole of this beautiful 
region will soon be brought under the fertilizing flow of a healthy 
emigration. The geographical position of Costa Kica is admirable — 
its moral position will be commensurately raised. Abounding in all 
the elements of national prosperity, what it needs is a population 
adequate to their full development. Such a population will be a 
certain consequence of the opening of the proposed route — not mere 
adventurers, seeking immediate gain at whatever detriment to others 
or hazard to themselves; but permanent, effective laborers in the 
great field of improvement. 

Another and a final motive which may be adduced, is one that 
must appeal too powerfully to a government actuated by such feelings 
and aspirations as control the government of this republic, to require 
much stress. The magnificent enterprise in contemplation is not 
designed for the exclusive benefit of those directly concerned in it^ but 
for the benefit of mankind. The governments that have taken it 
under their especial care are not prompted by narrow and selfish views. 
Their aim is the accomplishment of a work which will be productive 
of universal good. The glory to be earned by those who may con- 
tribute to it will be of a kind than which the page of history can 
hardly exhibit any more enviable or exalted — the glory of having 
created, not only a fresh and abounding channel of material wealth, 
but another and most efficient means of diffusing peace and good will. 
Such an opportunity of enrolling her name among the benefactors of 
the human family is not often accorded to a nation, and it is one 
which the undersigned cannot doubt will be eagerly seized by the 
enlightened men who preside over the destinies of Costa Eica. 

The undersigned renew to his excellency the assurance of their 
most distinguished consideration and profound respect. 

EGBERT M. WALSH. 
CHARLES LENNOX WYKE. 

His Excellency Don Joaquin Bernardo Calvo, 

Minister of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Costa Rica. 



[Translation.] 

National Palace, 

San Jose, June 11, 1852. 

Gentlemen : The undersigned had the honor to receive, with a 
note dated the 10th instant, a copy of the propositions of the govern- 
ments of the United States and Great Britain for a final settlement of 
the difficulties relative to the limits between Costa Rica and Nicara- 
gua ; and it is a source of satisfaction to the undersigned to be able to 
assure Messrs. Walsh and Wyke that the president of the republic 
entertains the highest regard for this commission, and that, wishing 
to enter upon conferences relative to the important object it has in 
view, he has charged the undersigned, together with the minister of 
finances, to act accordingly. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 175 

If agreeable to Messrs. Walsh, and Wyke, said conferences will 
begin at one o'clock in the afternoon on Tuesday the 15th instant, at 
the residence of the commissioners of the United States and Great 
Britain, &c, &c, &c. 

J. BERNARDO CALVO. 



[Translation.] 

National Palace, 
San Jose, June. 16, 1851. 

Gentlemen: Having considered the bases agreed upon by the gov- 
ernments of Great Britain and the United States for a definite adjust- 
ment of the question of territorial limits between Costa Rica and Nica- 
ragua, and other objects of interest, the most excellent president of 
the republic has, on this day, been pleased to dictate the following 
resolution : 

"Having seen and examined the convention signed at "Washington, 
on the 30th of April of the present year, by the representatives of the 
governments of Great Britain and the United States, the object of 
which convention is to propose bases for an adjustment of the question 
of territorial limits between the'republic of Costa Rica and the State 
of Nicaragua, other points relative to the Mosquito territory and the 
inter-oceanic Atlantic-Pacific canal being, at the same time, determined 
in said bases ; sundry conferences having been held between the cabinet 
ministers of this government and Messrs. R. M. Walsh, special envoy 
of the government of the United States, and C. L. AVyke, consul gen- 
eral of her Britannic Majesty; and considering, that although one of 
the limits to the north of the territory of the republic has been, and 
is, by the constitution and various authentic documents in existence, 
the mouth of the river San Juan, where it empties itself into the At- 
lantic ocean; and notwithstanding that the republic was not consulted 
at the time of concluding the contracts which were entered into for the 
great work of the inter-oceanic canal across the isthmus, and that the 
independence of Costa Rica is not directly affected by questions with the 
Mosquitos ; yet, in deference to the respected mediation of the govern- 
ments of the maritime powers of Great Britain and the United States 
of North America, to the great interests of all commercial nations of 
Europe and America, in the construction of the inter-oceanic canal, 
and to the desire of settling, in a peaceful and friendly manner, with 
our neighbor, the State of Nicaragua, the territorial questions now 
pending, the executive power of the republic of Costa Rica, in Central 
America, assents, adheres, and subscribes to the bases agreed upon in 
Washington, on the 30fch of April last, and contained in seven articles, 
which have been presented to this government by Messrs. Robert M. 
Walsh, envoy of the United States, and Charles L. Wyke, consul gen- 
eral of her Britannic Majesty, especially authorized to that effect ; and 
the republic will, in due time, co-operate in the formation of a definite 
treaty, which is to be concluded upon said basis. Let the legislative 
power be informed of this resolution, in order that it may be pleased 
to approve the same if it thinks proper, and let Messrs/ Walsh and 
Wyke be notified of the fact, for their information." 



176 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

And in transmitting to Messrs. Walsh and Wyke the foregoing reso- 
lution, the undersigned has been ordered to state that it would be de- 
sirable that, in the definite treaties, Costa Eica might not be so much 
sacrificed in defining her territorial limits, by taking, at the north, 
the Rio Colorado instead of the northern branch of the river San Juan, 
seeing that the right which the republic preserves and possesses, from 
time immemorial, to the aforesaid river of San Juan, to the point where 
it empties itself into the Atlantic, is indisputable; which is the northern 
limit of said republic, designated by the constitution and recognised 
by Spain, the Holy See, and other powers with which there are treaties 
in existence. That it would be likewise to be desired that no right 
should be vested in the inter-oceanic canal company to ask any tract of 
land over the territory of Costa Eica, in view of the fact that neither 
the government of Nicaragua nor the aforesaid company invited the 
government of the republic to co-operate in the contract relative to the 
canal enterprise, but that, on the contrary, said government was dis- 
regarded, by disposing de facto of the territory of its jurisdiction, or 
which at least was questionable, but which it possessed in good faith 
and by a just title. But if it should be insisted to grant to the canal 
company the right aforesaid on the territory of Costa Eica, then it is 
to be hoped that each section of territory shall" not exceed three square 
miles, or, what is the same, one league in longitude and ditto in 
latitude — the republic reserving to itself full dominion and the exer- 
cise of its sovereignty over any company or colony which may be es- 
tablished in each of the aforesaid sections of land. That in the same 
manner it would be desirable that if, owing to circumstances beyond 
our control, it should be sought to carry out the right of the company 
to occupy other sections of land on the territory of Costa Eica instead 
of taking the same on the territory of Nicaragua, this government 
shall not be compromised into any subsequent arrangement with the 
government of that State, but that the company shall negotiate with 
the former the indemnity which may be due to Costa Eica — a conven- 
tion to that effect being previously concluded. That it would be 
likewise to be desired to lay down in the treaty this principle : that 
in no case shall discriminating import duties be established in San Juan 
in regard to any State, nor heavier duties than those which are levied 
on the most favored nations, whatever may be the port duty, and 
whatever may be the produce and articles of exportation ; and finally, 
that it would be likewise to be desired that the fulfilment of the 
treaty should be left, by an express article, under the respected 
guaranty and vigilance of the governments of the United States and 
Great Britain. 

The government of Costa Eica hopes, from the enlightened judg- 
ment of Messrs. Walsh and Wyke, that they will be pleased to take 
fully into consideration the arguments advanced, and that they will 
use their immediate influence in enforcing said arguments upon the 
high consideration of their respective governments, whose equity in- 
spires the authorities and the people of this republic with the utmost 
confidence. 
The undersigned, &c, &c, &c. 

J. BERNARDO CALVO. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. IV 7 

San Jose, June 17, 1852. 

The undersigned have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the 
note of his excellency the minister of foreign relations, dated yester- 
day, communicating to them the resolution of the president of the 
republic, by which he consents to the propositions made by their gov- 
ernments for the adjustment of boundaries between Costa Eica and 
Nicaragua, and which, he informs them, will be submitted to the legis- 
lative body for approval. 

It is with sincere gratification that the undersigned have learned 
this decision of the president, so worthy of his eminent character ; 
and they doubt not that the wisdom and patriotism of the legislature 
will sanction it without delay. 

The remarks added by the minister respecting the changes which 
the government of Costa Eica would wish to have made in the defini- 
tive treaty to be celebrated at Washington, will be conveyed to the 
two governments at the earliest moment, and cannot fail to receive a 
respectful and friendly consideration, &c, &c, &c. 

E. M. WALSH, 
C. L. WYKE. 



[Translation.] 

Inasmuch as there has been received from the M. E. national exec- 
utive the decree No. 10, of yesterday, which says : 

"No. 10. Juan Eafael Mora, president of the republic of Costa 
Eica. Inasmuch as the M. E. Constitutional Congress has decreed 
the following : The M. E. Constitutional Congress of the republic of 
Costa Eica, in view of the bases agreed upon in Washington, by the 
representatives of the two great powers of Great Britain and the 
United States of the north, relative to the question of territorial limits 
which exists between the State of Nicaragua and the republic of Costa 
Eica, and in view of the approbation which the supreme executive 
power has given to the same, decrees : 

"Only article. — The assent, adherence, and approval, which the 
supreme government of the republic has given, in the decree of the 
16th instant, to the bases agreed upon in Washington on the 30th of 
April last, by the representatives of the governments of Great Britain 
and the United States, for an adjustment between the republic of Costa 
Eica and the State of Nicaragua, relative to the question of territorial 
limits, are approved. To the executive power. 

"Given at the palace of the supreme powers, at San Jose, on the 
22d day of the month of June, 1852. 

"MIGUEL MOEA, Vice President. 
BEUMO CAEBANZA. Secretary. 
JOSE MAEIA GABCIA, Secretary. 

"National Palace, 

San Jose, June 23, 1852. 
" Therefore, let the above be carried out. 

"JUAN EAFAEL MOEA. 

" Minister of State in the department of the government, 

12 a "JOAQUIN BEBNABDO CALVO." 



178 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Therefore, I have thought proper to approve, confirm, and ratify, 
as by these presents I do approve, confirm, and ratify the aforesaid 
bases, consisting of seven articles, and signed at Washington, on the 
30th of April of the present year, by Mr. Daniel Webster, Secretary 
of State of the United States, and Mr. John F. Crampton, envoy ex- 
traordinary and minister plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty, 
the resolution of this government, of the 16th of the present month, 
being likewise approved, confirmed, and ratified by these presents ; 
and, in virtue of the same, all that relates to it, respecting the afore- 
said bases and the above-mentioned resolutions, shall be fulfilled and 
observed in the republic of Costa Eica. 

In faith of which, I have caused these presents to be issued, per 
triplicate, signed with my hand, sealed with the great seal of the re- 
public, and countersigned by the Secretary of State in the Department 
of Foreign Eelations, at San Jose, on the 23d day of the month of 
June, 1852. 

JUAN E. MORA. 

Minister of State for Foreign Relations, 
JOAQ. BERNARDO CALVO. [l. s.] 



SAtf Jose, June 24, 1852. 

The undersigned have had the honor to receive the decree of the 
legislative body confirming the consent of his excellency the president 
to the propositions made by their governments, together with the note 
of his excellency the minister of foreign affairs. They beg leave to 
express their high sense of the excellent feeling and judgment dis- 
played by the government of Costa Eica in the important business 
which has been so happily arranged. Its whole action in the matter 
will be duly appreciated by their governments, and must tend to 
strengthen the friendly sentiments which they cherish towards this 
well-regulated and prosperous republic. 

The undersigned would avail themselves of this occasion to tender 
their warmest thanks for the kindness and distinction with which they 
have been treated since their arrival in the country. It is their in- 
tention to leave to-morrow for Punta Arenas, there to embark for San 
Juan del Sur. Wherever they go, they will carry with them a grate- 
ful impression of their residence in Costa Eica, and the sincerest de- 
sire for the welfare of its government and people. 

The undersigned, &c, &c, &c. 

EOBEET M. WALSH, 
C. L. WYKE. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 179 

Mr. Kerr to Mr. Webster. 

[Extracts.] 

[No. 10.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Managua, July 28, 1852. 

Sir : Having arrived at Leon on the 13th ultimo, I took occasion to 
forward to the department, immediately afterwards, by the hands of 
Mr. Heine, a responsible person, the copies of the treaties with Guate- 
mala and San Salvador. I could have no guaranty of safety for these 
public papers except through, a special messenger, and, after guarding 
them in person along the whole route, it would have been extremely 
vexatious to have lost them by any negligence in others casually in 
charge. Your Nos. 11, 12, and 13, with accompanying papers, have 
been received, and my last communication, with the treaties, must now 
be in Washington. 

The letter of Mr. K. M. Walsh, of the 27th of May, with a copy of 
the proposed adjustment of all boundary and territorial difficulties in 
Nicaragua, as arranged between Mr. Crampton and yourself on the 
30th April last, reached me on the 21st ultimo, and you will perceive, 
in my letter of the 23d, how promptly I took the matter in hand. The 
papers were transmitted to Mr. Castillon, at Managua, and I followed 
in a few days, expecting that Messrs. Walsh and Wyke might even 
then be on their way from Costa Rica. It is a long and tedious route, 
and within a few days only they have reached Nicaragua. Mr. Walsh, 
overcome by his fatigue, probably, has declined to visit Managua, in- 
tending to wait for my despatches at Granada, and Mr. Wyke, by way 
of Realejo, came on here two days ago. 

A speedy settlement of the Guanacaste question, desirable on so 
many accounts, had always been kept in view by me, and in my con- 
versations with the more prominent men of the country, I had never 
failed to point to existing difficulties as barriers, not only to private 
enterprise, but to the general good of both States. You may imagine, 
however, with what pertinacity the Nicaraguans must hold on to the 
popular idea of rights in Guanacaste and Mosquito, when most of their 
leading and influential men have, in some form or other, lent their 
name and influence to the controversy. The present director, Mr. 
Pinedo, has been a commissioner at one time in behalf of Nicaragua ; 
and the secretary of foreign affairs, Mr. Castillon, won all his laurels 
in the discussion of the question. In fact, when I arrived at Granada 
last July, they were, one and all, rabid on the supposed backing of 
Costa Rica by England, and all my well-intentioned arguments to 
soothe their offended pride were received with distrust and suspicion. 
The only hope was, that practical views might take the place of party 
virulence, so soon as their high hopes of further commerce and wealth 
should be realized in a judicious and liberal management of the canal 
and transit scheme. Through the agency of both these corporations 
they allege that, as a government and a people, they have been grossly 
duped and deceived. It was just at the moment when such malign 



180 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS.'' 

influences were at work, that I was called to lay before the government 
the advisory paper of Mr. Crampton and yourself. 

The letter of Mr. Castillon, accompanying the decree of the senate 
and chamber of representatives, has, as you will perceive, negatived, 
in the most positive terms, the proposed basis for adjusting the out- 
standing questions. Strong motives may be found for their decided 
course in the sneers and insinuations of the other States, conveyed in 
the oft-repeated sentiment that Nicaragua was already lost to Central 
America, having been passed over into the hands of Americans. 

The publicity given to my official conduct during the outbreaks at 
Leon seemed for a while to have neutralized all force in such an idle 
and mischevious idea ; but it has been found to rankle among the poli- 
ticians, so as to exhibit itself under the slightest and most flimsy 
pretexts. 

In my last despatch, I forwarded the protest of this government of 
the 8th of May last, which was published at Salvador before it could 
have been received by me at Guatemala in due course of mail ; and a 
protest to a like purpose, under date of 6th instant, has been renewed 
by Mr. Castillon. Mere rumors have been exaggerated into hostile 
acts on the part of Americans at Castillo Viejo, and the proofs, such 
as they are, will be found attached to the copy of his protest. 

The same advantages could have been secured by a slight show of 
deference to the government ; but on the 17th of October last, with- 
out consultation with the existing authorities at Granada, a deed was 
given, in the name of the transit company, to Mr. Wiener, for the 
site of a house near the old fort. Here is the direct attack on their 
eminent domain, to which the protest refers in such bitter terms, and, 
simple as it seems, it has proved the source of actual resentment 
among these people. ***** 

I have never been able to ascertain how far the accessory transit, as 
distinct from the canal company, was a measure positively needed to 
conserve, in their original integrity, the privileges under the charter 
and its supplements ; but I did not think August last a proper time 
to enter upon negotiations with a provisional government, when a 
civil war was flagrant between two of the leading parties of the State. 
The subject was successfully pressed, even under such peculiar cir- 
cumstances ; and now it seems there is here a decided reaction, and 
but for the present effort on the part of the United States and Great 
Britain, presenting a moral spectacle to the world for the applause of 
just and generous men, the great project of an inter-oceanic canal 
would have failed, for a time at least, to secure the least confidence 
or respect. ******* 

^ Though quite ill on arriving at Managua, I sought an early inter- 
view with Mr. Castillon. In this private and informal meeting, he 
laid much stress on the allegation that the honor of the United 
States had been compromitted during the mission of Mr. Squier, when 
the Nicaraguans were induced to forego an opportunity for more 
favorable terms in regard to a canal with commercial men in England. 
I could only answer, that the government of the United States had 
nothing to do with the actual construction of such a work, that being 
reserved for the individuals incorporated for the purpose by his own 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 181 

State ; while Mr. Squier's instructions merely authorized his .good 
offices in facilitating, on all proper occasions, so grand an object. 
Though resentment for wrongs, alleged to have been perpetrated by- 
England at this very juncture, was the prevailing sentiment, yet he 
intimated a charge of inconsistency in then entering the market 
against her, though we were now combining with that power against 
the rights of Nicaragua. His favorite idea was a guaranty from both 
powers that the canal should be successfully prosecuted, else there 
might be an unqualified abandonment of just claims without equiva- 
lent. With himself the question was, in fact, a mere matter of dollars 
and cents — the general good of the world being a mere feather in the 
balance against any violation of the eminent domain of Nicaragua in 
Mosquito or Guanacaste. Of course I could not but see that they had 
no disposition whatever to entertain the propositions made by the 
United States and England, and the decided negative in the letter of 
the 20th instant did not surprise me. 

After being able to point to this spirited course towards the Ameri- 
can charge, they may now give the matter a new phase in the reply to 
Mr. Wyke ; there will be nothing really definitive, but they may hit 
on some plan to gain time, till an answer from Mr. Marcoleta may be 
received. A despatch, as I ascertained yesterday, was sent off to him 
at Washington. The papers, though recommendatory and advisory, 
I must, from the closing paragraph, regard as an ultimatum from Mr. 
Crampton and yourself. It will be my duty, therefore, to relieve you 
from embarrassment in any immediate action you may contemplate, 
by refusing to receive, officially, all evasive matter, however cunningly 
prepared for the nonce. ***** 

I have the honor to remain, with high respect and regard, 

JOHN BOZMAN KEEK. 



[Enclosure.] 

Mr. Walsh to Mr. Kerr. 

San Jose, June 28, 1852. 

Sra : I have the pleasure to inform you that the government of Costa 
Eica has given its full assent to the proposed treaty, as you will see 
by the enclosed paper. The English consul-general and myself will 
leave here in a few days for Nicaragua, embarking at Punta Arenas 
for either San Juan del Sur or Eealejo. I trust that the Nicaraguan 
government has manifested a willingness to accept the propositions, 
and that I shall be able to proceed at once to Grreytown to embark in 
the steamer of the 15th of July ; in which case I shall, in all proba- 
bility, reach Washington before the dissolution of Congress. 

I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient 
servant, 

EOBEET M. WALSH. 



182 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



Mr. Walsh to Mr. Kerr. 

Granada, July 22, 1852. 

Sir: I have just arrived in this place. Not heing very well, and 
having nothing to do in Nicaragua but to get any despatches which 
you may wish to send to Washington, I propose to remain here until 
the first of next month, for the purpose of taking whatever you may 
have to transmit. I cannot remain longer than that time, as my in- 
structions require me to return before the dissolution of Congress, 
which in all probability will take place some time in August. 

Hoping to hear soon that you have been successful in your negoti- 
ations with the Nicaraguan government, I have the honor to remain, 
with great respect, your obedient servant, 

K. M. WALSH. 



Mr. Kerr to Mr. Walsh. 

Managua, July 24, 1852. 

My dear Sir : A special courier has just arrived from Kealejo, and 
on Monday afternoon Mr. Wyke will be in Managua, when we may 
renew the attempt to bring about a better understanding with the 
government, in regard to the various points embraced in the recom- 
mendatory paper of the representatives of the United States and Eng- 
land, forwarded to me at Leon. 

Having pressed the matter in every way personally, it is my inten- 
tion to have a joint appeal on the arrival of Mr. Wyke; and the ses- 
sion of the chamber having been prolonged by a decree of yesterday, 
something may possibly be effected. I have very little hope, however, 
after so decided a stand from the first on the part of Mr. Castillon. 
Mr. Pinedo, the director, was once a commissioner in this boundary 
controversy with Costa Eica; and the minister of foreign affairs ob- 
tained much of his reputation from his polemic writings in England 
against Lord Palmerston, on these identical points. 

Had a commissioner of Costa Kica accompanied you, I have some 
slight faith in the idea that a renewal on his part of the equivalents 
actually offered for a cession of Guanacaste, years ago, might have 
opened a postern of escape to Nicaraguan pride and obstinacy. This 
subject has always made capital for one or the other of the factions at 
work in the State — just now very unsettled, as there are vague appre- 
hensions of fresh disturbances in November, on the a23proach of the 
election for director. 

It is out of my power to leave here in the morning, as I proposed, 
in order to have a conference with you at Granada; and I regret it the 
more, as the sons might thus have reciprocated the friendly feelings 
subsisting for thirty years between the fathers. From some expres- 
sions of Mr. Lawless yesterday, I fear I should have missed you at 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 183 

Granada, as the steamer he said was in the offing, merely waiting for 
you. The neglect of Mr. Wyke in such case, who has advised me of 
his coming on Monday hy special courier, would have been inexcusable, 
and I am constrained to remain here. 

I have had the decree copied, refusing to accede to the basis of set- 
tlement ; but I should like to have had time for copying out the letter 
of Mr. Castillon forwarding it. It is somewhat piquant ; and the 
whole subject had unfortunately to be presented by me just at a mo- 
ment when there was much of spleen at the scandalous conduct (as 
the protest to me terms it) of the Americans at San Juan del Norte 
and Castillo Viejo. I am making up a package for Washington, which 
will be sent by the next steamer. 

I remain, my dear sir, very respectfully and truly yours, 

J. B. KERB. 



Mr. Walsh to Mr. Kerr. 

Greytown, May 27, 1852. 

Sir : I have the honor to forward to you a package from the De- 
partment of State, which I trust will speedily reach you. I arrived 
here yesterday in the United States steamer Saranac, in company with 
the new British consul-general for Central America, Mr. Wyke. We 
proceed at once to San Jose, Costa Rica^ for the purpose of persuading 
the government of that country to accede to the views of England and 
the United States in regard to the affairs of this region. Thence we 
go to the capital of Nicaragua, where I hope to have the pleasure of 
meeting you, and learning that no opposition has been made to these 
views by the Nicaraguans. It is necessary for me to return to Wash- 
ington in July, so that I would take the liberty of begging to have 
everything arranged, if possible, by the beginning of that month. The 
proposed treat} appears to be so favorable to Nicaragua, that I presume 
little objection will be made to it there. 

I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT M. WALSH, 
Special Envoy to Costa Rica. 



Mr. Kerr to Mr. Castillon. 

Legation of the United States of America, 

Leon de Nicaragua, June 23, 1852. 

Sir : The commercial advantages in the construction of an inter- 
oceanic canal over this isthmus, so long an object of interest to the 
world, have given occasion to renewed efforts on the part of the gov- 
ernments of the United States of America and Great Britain, which 
the accompanying paper will better explain in full detail. 

So long as the boundary question between Nicaragua and Costa Rica 



184 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

remains in litigation, (liable, after years of fruitless negotiations, to 
the final arbitrament of the sword,) it is not to be expected that pru- 
dent capitalists will be ready to advance the necessary millions for the 
commencement and prosecution of such a work. 

The claim of Costa Rica, in regard to a full and entire participation 
in steam power on the lake and river, has been met in a way to leave 
exclusive control over these waters with Nicaragua ; and the cession of 
Guanacaste, as advised and recommended, would seem only to be in 
exact accordance with the will and wishes of the inhabitants of the 
district, unequivocally expressed during recent years. In truth, its 
possession, with so much of lukewarmness among the actual residents, 
would render it a nucleus for disaffection in Nicaragua, and even as a 
free gift, worthy of rejection. Besides, under the recent report of 
Colonel Childs, the accomplished engineer in the service of the Atlantic 
and Pacific Ship Canal Company, Salinas bay has ceased to be of im- 
portance as the possible terminus of the canal. The most eligible 
spot has been designated by him at a port always within the acknowl- 
edged limits of Nicaragua. 

The position taken by the English government, in the forcible ex- 
pulsion of Nicaraguan authority at San Juan, must be presumed to have 
been satisfactory to that power ; and hence, in any arrangement, the 
alleged rights of the Mosquito Indians would naturally have a promi- 
nent place. In allowing a portion of territory to these native tribes, 
within which they may without molestation pursue their nomadic life, 
the government of Nicaragua is not urged to any course inconsistent 
with national honor and dignity. It is precisely thus that the United 
States government has dealt with a similar race within its limits. 

I abstain from going more at large into these questions, so long a 
barrier to peace and progress in Central America, as I am fortunate in 
now signifying to the government of Nicaragua this evidence of good 
will, through the medium of a gentleman of enlarged views and prac- 
tical experience, from whom an attentive and liberal consideration may 
be anticipated. 

The legislature and executive have now in their own hands the ex- 
tinguishment of all causes of external discord, and, with prudence and 
moderation, the Nicaraguan flag may soon wave at the mouth of the 
San Juan in token of possession and sovereignty. The completion of 
the canal under the auspices of Nicaragua will eventually outweigh a 
hundred-fold the equivalents proposed in this recommendatory paper, 
which I have now the honor to enclose. 

The decision of Costa Rica may be looked for in a few days, and I 
would ask the immediate and serious attention of the Nicaraguan gov- 
ernment for the present propositions. In a week or ten days Mr. 
Walsh, a special agent of the United States to Costa Rica, in company 
with the British consul-general for Central America, Mr. Wyke, will 
have reached Managua from San Jose, and, incase of a favorable hear- 
ing, measures may at once be taken for a quadripartite treaty to be 
submitted to the Senate of the United States before its adjournment to 
the next session. Mr. Walsh is ordered to return to Washington im- 
mediately* 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 185 

I propose to be in Managua in a day or two, when we may confer 
in perfect frankness together ; ^and in the meanwhile I beg that you 
will accept the assurances with which I have the honor to be, sir, 
your obedient servant, 

JOHN B. KERR. 



Mr. Kerr to Mr. Castillon. 

Legation of the United States of America, 

Managua, July IS, 1852. 

Sir : In my communication of the 23d ultimo, I ventured to press 
upon the early action of the supreme government of Nicaragua a basLs 
of settlement for certain long-pending questions, offering, to this day, 
almost insuperable obstacles to the commencement and progress of a 
canal over the isthmus. 

Some definitive arrangement has become indispensably necessary, 
and it would give me much pleasure to know that the overture just 
made has been met in the true spirit of conciliation that prompted it. 

Since communicating that paper, I have been advised that future 
complications may be avoided in regard to grants of land within the 
Mosquito territory, by inserting towards the close of article 1, after the 
words " in that part of the territory hereby ceded to Nicaragua," the 
following : which grants shall have been attended with residence on 
or possession of the lands granted. Again, it might be advisable in 
the same article to strike out after the words "interfere with," the 
following: "Other legal grants made previously to that date by 
Spain, by the Central American confederation, or by Nicaragua." 

To article 3, add the following : But it is understood that nothing 
in this article contained shall prevent the republic of Costa Rica from 
resuming its rights to navigate the said rivers and lake by steam- 
vessels, when the charters of the Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal 
Company and Accessory Transit Company shall either have expired 
by their own limitation, or shall have been legally forfeited. 

Permit me to acknowledge the receipt of your communications of 
the 6th instant, and the moment I can procure reliable information in 
regard to Mr. Wiener's alleged claims under the Accessory Transit 
Company, I may be able to place his conduct in a more favorable 
light. 

I arrived at San Juan del Norte in July, eighteen hundred and 
fifty-one ; and this declaration of rights, to which your protest alludes, 
had even then been macle by resident foreigners in charge of the mu- 
nicipal authority of the place. The best answer I have will be found 
in the paper which I have already submitted. The government of 
the United States would gladly see that important point in the hands 
and under the flag of Nicaragua. 

I have the honor to remain, with much respect, your obedient ser- 
vant, 

J. B. KERR. 



186 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



[Translation.] 

House of Government, 
Managua, July 6, 1852. 

By the department of state for foreign affairs, now in my charge, and 
by the order of the supreme government of this State, a formal protest 
■was sent to your excellency against the acts of usurpation being com- 
mitted in the old castle, and the destruction of those historical monu- 
ments which Nicaragua had preserved as unequivocal evidence of the 
supreme dominion which it had, and now has, over that territory, from 
very remote times. 

A protest likewise and denouncement was made before your excel- 
lency against the plundering conduct of certain Americans, who, in 
connexion with those of other nations, have made of San Juan del 
Norte a Hanseatic city, making a regulation or constitution, establish- 
ing authorities, and exercising acts of sovereignty and independence 
of that which Nicaragua has proclaimed in her constitution. 

Although your excellency has not replied to the above-mentioned 
communication, to-day the government learns by divers ways, and 
from certain testimony, that not only did not Mr. Weiner suspend the 
erection of the building for an hotel, which he has established in the 
castle, in opposition to the prohibition intimated to him by the agent 
by order of government, but that others have built various other edi- 
fices on the platform of the fort, the builders taking the bricks and 
other materials therefrom ; that they have thrown down the earth on 
which the castle is built, and will probably cause thereby the destruc- 
tion of that fortress. 

And finally, the documents, an authentic copy of which I now have 
the honor to enclose to your excellency, will show that every day the 
independence and liberty of the country is threatened by the intro- 
duction of arms and the elements of war, in express violation of pre-ex- 
isting laws, and the stipulation of the 14th article of the contract of 
22d of September, 1849, celebrated with the company for the inter- 
oceanic canal, and which is declared valid by the convention of 20th 
August of last year. 

My government, in entering into the aforesaid arrangement, had in 
view to bind itself with the United States and its citizens by the 
strongest bonds of friendship, thereby obtaining, by means of civil- 
ization, its more rapid progress and social advancement ; it never 
could suspect that, from its sincerity and benevolence, it would be 
threatened with the sacrifice of its most vital rights, and that it would 
see itself compromitted so far as to be thrust into a series of conse- 
quences so truly lamentable as those which must result from a viola- 
tion or usurpation of its territory by individuals. 

Wherefore, without prejudicing the right to take any other steps 
that may be considered necessary for the faithful enforcement of the 
laws confided to him, and to maintain the integrity of its territory 
and the sovereignty of the State, the supreme director has directed to 
me an order to protest anew against the aggression committed on this 
State by individuals, or companies, from the United States, for the 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 187 

serious and disagreeable consequences resulting therefrom, and for the 
damages and expenses that may he caused to its citizens or to its 
foreigners resident. 

The director cherishes the hope that the co'nduct of your excellency, 
always conciliatory, and the enlightenment and principles which you 
have professed since your residence in the country, will smooth all 
difficulties, and obviate every act which might tend to humiliate the 
rights and privileges of Nicaragua . 

Be pleased, excellent sir, to receive the present protest, and, if you 
think best, to call to it the attention of your government, that such a 
course may be taken as may be deemed most proper, and at the same 
time to accept the assurance of the high esteem and respect with which 
I have the honor to be your faithful servant, &c, &c, 

FKANCISCO CASTILLON. 

Hon. John B. Kerr, 

Charge d' Affaires of the United States near Nicaragua. 



[Translation.] 

Government House, 

Managua, June 25, 1852. 

Sir: The esteemed official note of your excellency, of 23d instant, 
is received, as also the accompanying copy of a treaty agreed upon by 
the government of your excellency and that of her Majesty the Queen 
of Great Britain, with the object of regulating the ditferences which 
exist between Nicaragua and Costa Kica in relation to their territo- 
rial limits. 

My government, to which I gave notice of their reception, is inform- 
ing itself in relation to the subject-matter therein referred to, so as to 
be enabled to reply to your excellency in such manner as the interest, 
honor, and dignity of the State shall require in an aifair in which its 
rights may be so sensibly affected. 

Opportunely I will communicate to your excellency the resolution 
of my government, and in the meantime I have the honor to be, with 
all consideration, the attentive servant of your excellency, 

FKANCISCO CASTILLON. 

Hon. J. Bozman Kerr, 

Charge d' Affaires in Nicaragua. 



Mr. Castillon to Mr. Kerr. 

[Translation.] 

House of Government, 

Managua, July 20, 1852= 

Honorable Sir : Conformably with my promise made to your excel- 
lency in my despatch of 26th June last, my government has examined 



188 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

the stipulations agreed upon between his excellency the Secretary of 
State of the United States and his excellency the envoy minister pleni- 
potentiary of Great Britain in Washington, on the 30th of April of 
this present year, for the settlement of the territorial questions between 
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Mosquito. 

My government comprehending the importance and consequence of 
this business, and not rinding itself invested with the requisite power 
to resolve within itself the important questions involved in the afore- 
said stipulations, has found itself under the obligation to transmit it 
to the legation chambers for such action as might be judged proper. 
The chambers having thereupon the subject under consideration, and 
inspired not only by the confidence which they have in the justice of 
the cause of Nicaragua, whose rights they believe to be greatly 
affected, but also in the enlightenment and moderation of the prin- 
ciples of the governments of Great Britain and the United States, and 
of the guaranties granted by international law in favor of all States, 
thought pfoper to refuse their acceptance of the aforesaid stipulations; 
at the same time, in the name of Nicaragua, a disposition to submit 
to an impartial arbitration of the questions in dispute, referred to in 
said stipulations, as your excellency will perceive in the decree, an 
authenticated copy of which accompanied this. 

My government, therefore, in conformity with said decree, has di- 
rected me to manifest to your excellency that, with all deference for 
the governments referred to above, the American Union and Great 
Britain, as far as reconcilable with the honor and dignity of the 
State, finds itself in the painful situation of not being able to accede 
to the proposed stipulations ; at the same time it has a high appreci- 
ation of the friendly offices and sentiments which your excellency has 
expressed, in their name, in communicating the reflections, with the 
character of recommendations^ for the consideration of the govern- 
ments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. 

Your excellency will see in this declaration that, although my 
government does not accede to the articles of agreement submitted to 
it, it evinces itself, nevertheless, no less disposed to cultivate with the 
governments of the United States and Great Britain the relations of 
friendship and good correspondence now happily existing, and which 
tend to peace and the general good. 

God grant that a similar disposition may be preserved by the two 
governments aforesaid ; and that duly appreciating the sentiments of 
that of Nicaragua, they may be willing to interpose their friendly 
interference in order that the reasonable proposition for an impartial 
arbitration, suggested by Nicaragua, may be adopted by Costa Rica 
and Great Britain, so that the territorial question now under consid- 
eration may be harmoniously terminated. 

As to the stipulation between Great Britain and the United States 
relating to the affairs of the Atlantic and Pacific Canal Company and 
that accessory to the transit, and contained in articles 4th, 5th, 6th, and 
7th of aforementioned stipulations, my government protests that it 
will not agree, as it has not agreed, to any regulation which shall in 
any manner alter the conditions of the primitive contract of the 22d 
September, 1849, the modifications of the 11th April, 1850, and of 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 189 

tlie agreement of the 19th August, 1851, which shall in all cases be 
the invariable rules for its conduct ; that it will none the less refuse 
to accept any other arrangement which shall directly or indirectly 
jeopard the rights of Nicaragua, either on its coasts, ports, rivers, or 
lake, or even in the canal and its dependencies, or in any point of its 
territory, whose integrity it may be desirable to preserve, notwith- 
standing that the said regulations should have been agreed upon by the 
aforesaid governments of the United States and Great Britain, or with 
any other power, unless there should be present on the part of this 
State a minister plenipotentiary, and he concurring thereto ; and not 
even then, until the agreement of said minister has been previously 
ratified by the legislative power. 

With the foregoing, which I hope your excellency will make known 
to your government, as I now request of you, I have, by order of my 
government, replied to your highly esteemed communications, dated 
on the 23d of June last, and on the 13th of the present, month. 

I have the honor to renew to the Hon. Mr. Kerr the assurances of 
my distinguished consideration and friendship. 

FRAN. CASTILLON. 

Hon. Mr. Kerr, 

Charge d' Affaires of the U. S., 

near the Government of Nicaragua. 



No. 32. 

The Director of the State to its inhabitants, 

Inasmuch as the legislative assembly has decreed as follows : The 
senate and chamber of representatives of the State of Nicaragua in 
assembly constituted — 

DECREE. 

Art. 1. The State of Nicaragua does not accept the projet of agree- 
ment or recommendatory bases adjusted on the 30th of April last be- 
tween his excellency Daniel Webster, Secretary of State of the United 
States, and bis excellency John F. Crampton, envoy extraordinary 
and minister plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty in Washing- 
ton, for the regulation of the territorial boundaries of Nicaragua and 
Costa Rica, and for the separation of the Mosquito coast. 

Art. 2. The State of Nicaragua is disposed to an examination 
(ventilar) of the questions referred to in said bases by an impartial 
arbitrament. 

Art. 3. The State of Nicaragua solemnly protests against all foreign 
interference in matters of her administration, and against the use of 
force to restrain her will and rights. 

Done in the saloon of session of the chamber of representatives , 



190 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Managua, July 14, 1852. Augustin Aviles, IN". President ; J. Joaquin 
Cuaclra, R. Secretary ; J. Mar. Bolanos, E. S. 
To the Executive. 

Hall of senate, Santiago de Managua, July 16, 1852. -^-Miguel E. 
Moralles, S. P. ; J. G-uerra, S. S. ; Jose de Jesus Eoblete, S. S. 

Therefore let it be complied with. — Managua, July 19, 1852. J. 
Lauriano Pineda. 

To the minister of foreign relations and government. 

True copy : 

CASTILLON. 

Managua, July 20, 1852. 



[Translation.] 

Mr. J. de la Eoclia to Mr. Kerr. 

House of Government, 

Managua, May 8, 1852. 

On the 19th of February last, a communication, by order of the Di- 
rector, was addressed to your excellency, denouncing the works com- 
menced by certain Americans at the old castle — the destruction of its 
platform, and the appropriation of the materials thereof, and construc- 
tion of edifices therewith, without even having the courtesy to advise 
with the supreme government, and the legitimate representative of the 
interests of the State, to which belong the ground and the works 
thereon erected, the antiquity and importance of which are self-evident. 

In your reply of the same date, your excellency offered to make all 
possible efforts to prevent the destruction of the remains of the ancient 
fortress, identified with the history of the country ; you assured that, if 
the transgressors were your fellow-citizens, they would promptly listen 
to a just representation against their illegal proceedings. The govern- 
ment, at a consultation held on the 24th December, year before last, 
having resolved to establish a preventive post of the customs at the 
aforesaid point, the old castle, being the most fit for the suppression of 
smuggling carried on in the State, and even in vessels belonging to 
the inter-oceanic company, directed the collector of customs at San 
Juan to make a reconnaissance of those works, and that he should order 
them to be suspended, for the government had properly understood 
that the execution of said works was nothing else but an abuse com- 
mitted by some private speculators ; but how great was the surprise 
of the Director to find among the documents with which he was fur- 
nished by the commissioners, the act of cession made by the inter- 
oceanic canal company on the 17th of October, 1851. This surprise 
was increased by finding that the company assured to Mr. Wiener and 
his successors the absolute right of property in the ground, thus show- 
ing an evident determination to usurp in fact the territory of the 
State, reckless of its rights, and without any consideration for its dig- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 191 

nity, which demands a satisfaction and indemnity for the State. In 
order that the government should be informed of these transactions, 
and standing as it did by the act above cited, that the hotel ordered to 
be erected in the old castle would be under the direction and approval 
of the company, resolved to call upon Mr. John Doyle, the accredited 
agent of the company near this government ; and when it exjtected a 
satisfactory reply, was only told that the resolution of the company, in 
relation to the house of Mr. Wiener, having been anterior to his arrival 
in this country, he had written to his principals for information and 
instruction. In the meanwhile the government, vigilant in preserving 
the rights and privileges of the State, directed its subaltern agents to 
omit no important notification concerning ulterior steps in an affair 
in which was' no less compromised the integrity of the territory than 
the independence and liberty of the country. In compliance therewith, 
the functionaries of the occidental department have manifested to the 
government that the contractor at the old castle not only continued 
his first work, but that he had formed a parapet on the ground, and 
mounted a piece of artillery ; that he has thrown down the earth, 
and thrown broken bottles into the water at the landing, for the 
purpose of preventing the landing of our canoes, and that many 
of our sailors who were obliged to work at this place, stuck full of 
these articles artificially arranged, were thereby wounded ; that a 
public sale of liquors (a monopoly of the State) was established. 
In addition to these, and by a rare coincidence, the English authori- 
ties established in San Juan del Norte having withdrawn from that 
point, the American residents there, with other foreigners, have 
declared the territory independent of Nicaragua, made a constitution, 
by popular election chosen a mayor, and established a tribunal of 
justice ; that is, they have consummated an overt act of usurpation, oc- 
cupying in fact the most interesting part of the territory of the State, 
in opposition to the stipulations agreed upon between the enlightened 
government of the United States and that of Great Britain, on the 
19th of [April,] 1850, and contrary to the hopes which Nicaragua had 
conceived, as much from the magnanimity of the American govern- 
ment, as from the generosity with which it (Nicaragua) had offered 
the advantages of its position to the fellow-citizens of your excellency. 
The intention was truly foreshadowed even in the newspapers of the 
United States. In the Herald of 30th of March, year before last, 
which your excellency has probably read, alluding to the restitution 
of the above-mentioned port (San Juan del Norte) to the dominion of 
Nicaragua, are the^ following words, without any attempt at conceal- 
ment : " With the slightest pretext we will drive out, without much 
ceremony, its officers ; for we are no more favorably disposed to the 
cause of Nicaragua than we are to the Anglo-Mosquito flag/' 

The impatience to arrive at this end was such that they anticipated 
all faction, and the most scandalous separation was effected — scandal- 
ous for the great indignity and serious offence given to a friendly na- 
tion ; scandalous for the violence which was committed on interna- 
tional law, without any motive whatever from Nicaragua, without 
pretext which would authorize it, and without permission from the 
supreme authority, which, in the name of the State, holds in that 



192 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

territory the eminent dominion ; scandalous, finally, for the active 
part taken in it by the individuals of that nation which is probably 
the most favored in Nicaragua. 

The supreme government of the State, so far from believing that the 
United States have acquiesced or concurred therein, has instructed its 
plenipotentiary to that government to make a proper claim for the 
offence which Nicaragua has received by these acts committed by citi- 
zens of that republic. But while in the meantime that" the enlight- 
ened government of the American people is taking cognizance of and 
determining in relation thereto, the silence of the government of Nica- 
ragua might be interpreted as a renouncement of its rights, or as a 
toleration of the same, it has expressly directed me to address to your 
excellency the present communication, protesting, through me, that 
now, nor at any time whatever, has Nicaragua renounced her rights 
of proprietorship and present dominion over the port of San Juan, the 
old castle, and adjacent territories, no matter what maybe the consid- 
eration and political existence with which it may be designed to invest 
the act of usurpation ; that Nicaragua will make proclamation of her 
rights in all the civilized nations of the world, before whose tribunals 
her rights will be vindicated, notwithstanding her debility, in oppo- 
sition to the strength with which she is threatened and cannot resist. 
I am furthermore directed to make manifest to your excellency the 
hope, that even now inspires it, of your excellency's mediation ; and, 
from your reconciliatory character, that you will be enabled to arrange 
the differences to which I have above referred, without any grave and 
serious results, and without any interruption of the friendly relations 
of both countries. 

With this inducement, I have the peculiar satisfaction of renewing 
to your excellency, with the utmost sincerity, the offering of friend- 
ship and esteem with which I sign myself your humble servant, 

JESUS DE LA KOCHA. 

True copy. Managua, July 28, 1852. 

The Charge d'affaires 

* Of the United States of America. 



[Translation.] 

Mr. Calvo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, to Mr. B. 31. 

Walsh, special envoy. 

National Palace, 
San Jose., June 25, 1852. 

Sir : It is very acceptable and satisfactory to the undersigned to be 
able to place in the hands of Mr. Walsh an authenticated exemplifica- 
tion of the decree which the President of the republic, with full author- 
ization on the part of the national representatives, has promulgated 
on the 23d instant, confirming and ratifying the assent and adhesion 
of Costa Eica to the bases signed at Washington on the 30th of April 
of the present year, for an agreement, which gives as its result the 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 193 

definitive and friendly determination of the question of territorial 
limits pending between this republic and that of Nicaragua, and re- 
moves the difficulties which might embarrass the prompt projected 
construction of the inter-oceanic canal. 

The government, convinced of the stringent necessity and con- 
venience of maintaining, without change, the fraternal relations which 
happily exist between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and that every 
source of disagreement which might affect the two countries should be 
removed, has considered this matter with the greatest interest, giving 
to it the preference which its importance demanded, subscribing, after 
mature deliberation, to the bases indicated, in testimony of its adhe- 
sion to the conservative principle of all communities, which is universal 
peace. 

But not this alone has determined the government to accept the 
bases referred to. It is the desire to contribute, on its part, to the 
well-being of the human race ; it is the hope that it will positively 
improve the condition of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, by the achieve- 
ment of that great work the inter-oceanic canal ; it is the supreme con- 
fidence which it places in the greatest maritime powers of Europe and 
America which take such interest in the future of these regions ; it is, 
in fine, the sincere respect with which it contemplates the high inter- 
mediation of these governments in affairs which, perhaps, might pre- 
sent in the future serious results, contrary to the peace and security 
of peoples who are brothers and neighbors. Therefore this govern- 
ment is much gratified that an occasion like the present has provided 
the means to express the conformity of its sentiments with those of 
the United States and of Great Britain, in the important matter which 
they have treated, and offers its fervent wishes that the conclusion 
may have the happy result which is to be desired. 

The undersigned avails of this occasion to signify afresh to Mr 
Walsh that he is, with expressions of true friendship and sympathy, 
his obedient, humble servant, 

JQ. BERN. CALVO. 



[Translation.] 

Juan Rafael 3Iora, President of the Republic of Costa Rica in Central 

America, 

Whereas Mr. R. M. Walsh, special envoy of the government of 
the United States of North America, and Mr. Charles L. Wyke, con- 
sul general of her Britannic Majesty, have presented to this govern- 
ment the bases agreed upon in Washington by the governments of the 
United States and Great Britain, on the 30th April last, for a defini- 
tive settlement of the questions of territorial limits pending between 
this republic and the State of Nicaragua, and other important subjects, 
which bases, translated into Spanish, article by article, read as follows : 

[Here follow the Webster and Crampton bases.] 

13 a 



194 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Whereas, upon consideration of the hereinhefore recited bases, this 
department on the 16th instant adopted the following resolution : 

National Palace, 

San Jose, June 16, 1852. 

Having read and examined the convention signed at Washington 
on the 30th of April of the present year, by the representatives of the 
governments of Grreat Britain and the United States, the purport of 
which convention is to propose bases for an accommodation between 
the republic of Costa Kica and the State of Nicaragua of the question 
of territorial limits, and at the same time defining in said bases other 
points relating to the Mosquito territory and the Atlantic and Pacific 
inter-oceanic canal, having had several conferences of the ministry of 
foreign affairs of this government with Mr. E. M. Walsh, special en- 
voy of the government of the United States, and Mr. C. L. Wyke, 
consul-general of her Britannic Majesty, and considering that, although 
one of the northern boundaries of the territory of the republic has been, 
and is, by the constitution, and by various existing authentic docu- 
ments, the place at which the river St. Juan empties itself into the 
Atlantic ocean, and notwithstanding that the republic was not con- 
sulted on the occasion of closing the agreements which have been made 
for the great work of the inter-oceanic canal across the isthmus, nor 
that the independence of Costa Pica is not directly affected by the 
Mosquito question, yet, in deference to the respected mediations of the 
governments of the maritime powers of Grreat Britain and of the 
United States of North America, to the great interests of all the com- 
mercial nations of Europe and America in the construction of the in- 
ter-oceanic canal, and to the desire to terminate pacifically and ami- 
cably with our neighbor, the State of Nicaragua, the pending territo- 
rial questions, the executive power of the republic of Costa Rica, in 
Central America, assents, adheres, and subscribes to the bases agreed 
upon at Washington on the 30th of April last, and contained in seven 
articles, which have been presented to this government by Mr. Robert 
M. Walsh, envoy of the United States, and Mr. C. L. Wyke, consul- 
general of her Britannic Majesty, specially empowered for this pur- 
pose ; and on a fitting occasion the republic will concur in framing 
the definitive treaty which is to be made upon said bases. Let this res- 
olution be communicated to the most excellent legislative authority, 
that it maybe approved if judged proper, and notified to Messrs. 
Walsh and Wyke, for their information. 

JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 

Minister of State, Department of Foreign Relations, 
JOAQUIN BERNARDO CALVO. 

And whereas the decree No. 10, of yesterday, has been received 
from the most excellent the legislative authority, which says : 

No. 10. Juan Rafael Mora, president of the republic of Costa Rica. 

Whereas the most excellent constitutional congress has decreed 
what follows : 

The most excellent constitutional congress of the republic of Costa 
Rica having before it the bases agreed upon at Washington by the 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 195 

ministers of the two great powers, Great Britain and the United States 
of the north, on the question of territorial limits which is pending 
"between the State of Nicaragua and the republic of Costa Kica, and in 
view of the approval accorded to them by the supreme executive power, 

DECREES : 

Article 1st and only one. — Approval is given to the assent, adhesion, 
and subscription which the supreme government of the republic has 
accorded, under date of the 16th instant, to the bases agreed upon at 
Washington on the 30th of April last, between the representatives of 
the governments of Great Britain and the United States, for an accom- 
modation between the republic of Costa Rica and the State of Nica- 
ragua on the question of territorial limits pending between both 
'countries. 

To the Executive Power. 

Given at the palace of the supreme authorities at San Jose, the 
twenty-second day of June, 1852. Miguel Mora, vice president. 
Brumio Carranza, secretary. Jose Maria Garcia, secretary. 

Therefore, let it be executed. National Palace, San Jose, June 23, 
1852. Juan Rafael Mora. Minister of state, office of executive admin- 
istration, Joaquin Bernardo Calvo. 

Wherefore, I have deemed good to approve, confirm, and ratify, and 
by these presents do approve, confirm, and ratify, the enunciated bases 
consisting of seven articles, and signed at Washington the 30th of 
April in this instant year, by Daniel Webster, Secretary of State of 
the United States, and John F. Cramptori, envoy extraordinary and 
minister plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty ; also approving, 
confirming, and ratifying by these presents the resolution of this gov- 
ernment of the 16th of this present month ; and in virtue thereof the 
republic of Costa Rica will fulfil and observe all that concerns her in 
respect of the expressed bases of the resolution mentioned. 

In testimony whereof, I have caused these presents to be done in 
triplicate, signed with hand, sealed with the great seal of the republic, 
and countersigned by the secretary of state of the department for 
foreign affairs on the 23d day of the month of June, 1852. 

JUAN R. MORA. [l. s.] 

Joaquin Bernardo Calvo, 

El Ministro de Estado en el 

Despacho de Eelaciones Ester lores. 



Mr. Kerr to Mr. Webster. 
[ExtractB.] 



[No. 11.] Legation of the United States op America, 

Managua, July 30, 1852. 

Sir : On closing my despatch of the 28th instant, and just as I was 
in the act of paying him a visit at Granada, Mr. Walsh came 'up here. 



196 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

We have been now two days together, and, hy a personal interview 
with the director and Mr. Castillon, he will have detected under what 
complications the government here is disposed to embarrass the sub- 
ject of a settlement with Costa Eica, and all regulations touching the 
future disposition of the Mosquito coast. They have most certainly 
hardened their hearts with more than Egyptian stubbornness against 
every attempt on the part of the United States government to lead 
them otherwise than their pride suggests. 

That which I mentioned on Wednesday, as a probable thing, has 
actually occurred. Mr. Wyke last evening had a reply to his com- 
munication, and, by way of set-off to the proposed bases of settlement 
at Washington, he received a series of articles as modifications, duly 
drawn in strict adherence to their ancient claims and pretensions. 
These Mr. Castillon sent also to me in a special communication. My 
reply of this morning is submitted for your examination, and all the* 
papers have been copied for this despatch. * * * * 

With sincere respect and regard, your obedient servant, 

J. B. KERR. 



Mr. Castillon to Mr. Kerr. 
[Translation.] 

Government House, July 29, 1852. 

Honorable Sir: Mr. Charles Lennox Wyke, consul-general of her 
Britannic Majesty, has presented the bases agreed upon at Washing- 
ton for the adjustment of the territorial questions between Costa Rica 
and Nicaragua, which your excellency was pleased to recommend to 
the attention of my government, inciting it, notwithstanding my re- 
ply to your excellency of the 20th instant, to take into its consideration 
this business, and to select some other medium through which to put 
a speedy and friendly termination to the differences. 

My government, abounding in the same wishes and philanthropic 
sentiments as the American Union and Great Britain, has not been 
able to do less than comply with the friendly invitation of Mr. Wyke; 
and having entered into a new examination of the aforementioned 
bases, analysed its articles, and meditated maturely on each one of them, 
guided by the spirit of good faith and honesty which forms the dis- 
tinguishing feature of its character, has instructed me to say to the 
aforementioned consul, notwithstanding its having declared the dis- 
position of the State to terminate these questions by means of an im- 
partial arbitrament, it might accede to the proposed basis, if it were 
possible to adopt certain modifications which I have the honor to enclose 
to your excellency; supplicating at the same time, if you should think 
it proper, to be pleased to submit them, with your recommendation, to 
the consideration of your government, for the purposes that they may 
give rise to. 

My government, with the expectation that they will meet with a 
favorable reception, has instructed its minister plenipotentiary in 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 197 

Washington to confer with the ministers of G-reat Britain and the 
United States in relation to the points embraced in said modifications, 
without prejudice of the arbitrament referred to in the decree of the 
chambers, which I communicated to your excellency in my aforesaid 
communication of 20th instant, in case that the said modifications 
should not be accepted as is desired. 
Accept, &c, 

FBANCISCO CASTILLON. 
Hon. Mr. Kerb, 

Charge d' Affaires of the United States. 



[Translation.] 

Modifications with which the basis established at Washington on the 
30th of April, for the arrangements of the questions concerning 
territorial boundaries may be made acceptable to Nicaragua. 

Article 1. The Mosquito Indians and the territory bearing the 
same name are incorporated and united forever with Nicaragua ; in 
which they shall enjoy the same rights, and will be subject to the 
same obligations, as the other inhabitants of that State, and in the 
terms established in its fundamental charter. Said territory shall 
be considered as a department of the State, and as such shall con- 
tribute with its respective representatives and senators to the legis- 
lative chambers, in the form and in the ratio which shall be determined 
by a special law ; consequently, commerce between that territory and 
the other towns of the State shall be entirely free and untrammelled, 
as in the ports, rivers, and lakes, and in the respective portions of 
territory for the navigation and transit of effects and carriages which 
shall obtain perfect security. 

Article 2. Nicaragua nevertheless promises — 

1st. To grant an indemnization for the edifices and improvements 
made in the port of San Juan, to the Mosquito Indians four per cent, 
of the net products of said port for the space of five years, said sum 
to be paid annually at the custom-house of aforesaid port to the muni- 
cipality which may be established there, in order that it may be 
applied to objects for the common benefit of said inhabitants. 

2d. To assign an equitable pension to the cacique or chief of the 
Mosquitos during his life. 

3d. To recognise and respect as lawful the grants of lands which, 
since the 1st of January, 1848, to the present time, have been made 
by the authorities of the Mosquito territory, with the exception of those 
grants which may be opposed to those which were formerly made by 
the Spanish government, by the federal government of Central Amer- 
ica, or by that of Nicaragua, or that may be contrary to the privileges 
or operations of the Atlantic-Pacific Canal Company and that accessory 
to the transit, or even if such grants be at those points which the State 
may require for forts, arsenals, or other public buildings, which points 
must remain at the disposal of the State itself. 



198 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Article 3. The port shall be denominated hereafter San Juan de 
Nicaragua, and the public municipal authority shall be exercised in 
the name of the State, the same as in all the rest of the territory united 
and incorporated within it in virtue of the present treaty. 

Article 4. The limits of the territory of Nicaragua on the side of 
Costa Eica shall be those which comprised anciently the province of 
Nicaragua, from the river Salto on the Pacific, and stretching a diago- 
nal line to the river Parismina on the Atlantic. Both States shall, 
within one year from the ratification of this treaty, appoint one com- 
missioner and one surveyor for each one of said States, in order that 
they may make a reconnaissance of the ground, and proceed to a de- 
marcation of the boundary conformably with this stipulation. The 
said commissioners shall take the necessary observations to make a 
special map of the dividing-line, which (said map) shall be an integral 
part of this treaty, and shall have the same force as if it were inserted 
in it, giving to each party the copies that may be desired, to be signed 
by all, so that if hereafter any dispute should arise from any infrac- 
tion thereof, in which event it shall be considered authentic and shall 
be held as full proof. And, in order that in this operation there may 
not be the slightest difficulty, said commissioners shall give names, by 
common consent, to the rivers and woods which have none, and shall 
distinguish them on the map with all minuteness, and shall erect with 
stone and mortar, in the proper places, corners or marks ; but it is 
stipulated that the navigation for the entire course of the rivers which 
maybe within the limits of Nicaragua, from that point at which each one 
commences to be navigable to its mouth, as likewise that of the lake or 
lakes and navigable waters, shall be entirely free and common to the 
citizens of both States, without any restriction or special condition 
which may favor the one more than the other ; it being well under- 
stood that the citizens of Costa Kica shall be bound as well as those 
of Nicaragua to the only limitation established in the 23d article of 
the contract celebrated with the company of White on the 22d Sep- 
tember, 1849, and that all will have to conform to the rules concern- 
ing the government of the navigation and other laws of the State. 

The State of Costa Rica shall enjoy — 

1st. Entire exemption from payment of introduction duties, for the 
space of ten years, in the port of San Juan del Norte. 

2d. Absolute exemption, forever, from duties on the exportation of 
her products, manufactures, &c. 

3d. Like liberty and exemption from duties in the navigation of the 
Sarapiqui, with an obligation on the part of said Costa Rica to make, 
at its expense, to render it navigable, and preserve it in that state, in 
the State in which it may be after the execution of said works. 

4th. To establish at that point in said river where it joins the San 
Juan, or at any other point which it may deem convenient, edifices 
for custom-house stores or warehouses, and for the situating of custom- 
house officers. 

5th. Power or liberty for its citizens to hold warehouses in San 
Juan for depositing their merchandise, which they may import for the 
interior of its territory, for the space of fifteen years. All the fore- 
going points shall be regulated by a special convention. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 199 

Article 5. The State of Nicaragua, with, a view to facilitate the 
execution of the great inter-oceanic canal, in the terms stipulated by 
the contract of the 2 2d September, 1849, binds itself by these pres- 
ents not to construct, nor permit to be constructed, any mole, wall, 
or place of embarcation, or any other work whatever, which may em- 
barrass the works of the canal, or the navigation or entrance to the 
ports, rivers, or lakes, where said work may be executed. It is well 
understood that the exclusive privilege granted to the company acces- 
sory to the transit, and the authorization which is given to it in the 
1st article of the agreement of 19th August, 1851, is not to exceed the 
limits and objects designated in the 30th article of the primitive con- 
tract of 22d September, 1849, which is to promote the prompt execu- 
tion of the canal, and for, in case that it should be impracticable, 
according to what has been declared to the company, said company 
being bound to submit strictly to said article 30th, conformably with 
the 9th of aforementioned agreement of 19th of August. 

Article 6. In case of the accomplishment, in whole or in part, of 
the projected inter-oceanic communication through the territory of 
Nicaragua, the flag of Great Britain, and also of the United States, 
as well also as the merchandise and subjects of both saicl powers, shall 
enjoy, in the transit, the same advantages and exemptions which may 
be granted to the flag, merchandise, and subjects of the most favored 
nations ; Nicaragua will regulate these points by means of the treaties 
of amity, alliance, and commerce, which it is disposed to make with 
the two high contracting powers ; and they obligate themselves, on 
their part, to unite their efforts with those of the government of Ni- 
caragua to guaranty the neutrality of this important route for inter- 
oceanic communication, for the purpose of protecting the sovereignty 
of the State, and a free transit against all embargo or confiscation, 
and to secure the capital invested in the expenses for said work ; 
which said guaranty is conditional, and, with previous announce- 
ment thereof to the government of Nicaragua, can be retracted in the 
cases especially set forth in the fifth article of the agreement adopted 
in Washington by the ministers of Great Britain and the United 
States ; and, for the purpose of fixing the distance within which ves- 
sels of all nations shall be exempt from blockade, detention, or cap- 
ture, by any of the belligerent parties, it is declared by this, that it 
shall extend to all the waters comprehended within the distance of 
thirty nautical miles from low-water mark at the two extremities of 
said canal. 

Article 7. It being desirable that time should not be unnecessarily 
lost in the commencement and construction of said canal, the govern- 
ments of the United States and Great Britain and Nicaragua agree, 
by these presents, in case that the company to which has been con- 
ceded the privilege of carrying out the enterprise shall not accredit, 
within the space of one year from the date of the ratification of the 
present contract, that said company has subscribed a capital sufficient 
for the execution of the same, or of insuperable obstacles and difficul- 
ties of a nature to impede the work or the construction of a railroad, 
then there shall be no obligation on the part of Nicaragua to observe 
said contract, and the company shall lose the privilege the moment 



200 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

that any other company, disposed to commence and continue the con- 
struction of the canal, shall ask for it in the proper form. The gov- 
ernment of Nicaragua, after having heard from those of the United 
States and Great Britain, will grant the privilege, under such stipula- 
tions and conditions as may be most adapted to complete the great 
object. 

Article 8. The company accomplishing the transit shall obtain the 
same protection agreed upon in the convention of April 19, 1850 ; 
and, in the present one, it shall be enjoyed by the Atlantic-Pacific 
Canal Company ; always, however, on condition that it shall be limited 
to the purpose of promoting and facilitating the canal on the terms 
stipulated in article 30th of the primitive contract of September 22, 
1849 ; the which shall be inviolably observed in conformity with ar- 
ticle 9th of the agreement of August 19, 1851. It is understood, 
however, that any other article of said agreement, which might alter 
it, shall be considered as null, of no value or effect, and the authority 
granted to the company, in virtue of article 8th, shall cease. 

Article 9. The present convention shall be ratified by the contract- 
ing parties, and exchanged at Washington, within six months, to be 
counted from this date. 

CASTILLON. 

Managua, July 29, 1852. 



Mr. Kerr to Mr. Castillon. 

Legation of the United States of America, 

Managua, July 31, 1852. 

Sir: You will remember that, in our informal meeting on the 
evening of the 8th instant, just after my arrival at Managua, an idea 
was thrown out, of the existence of some documentary evidence upon 
which you felt authorized to base, on behalf of your government, com- 
plaints of a want of good faith in this recent projet, recommended as 
the result of the joint councils of the United States and Great Britain. 

It was reiterated with marked emphasis yesterday, when I had 
through you the honor of presenting to his excellency the director 
the distinguished gentleman sent in behalf of the United States to 
Costa Bica, and now on his way to Washington. 

I am just closing a despatch to the Department of State, and you 
will oblige me very much by stating the circumstances under which 
any such documentary evidence could have had its origin, at twelve 
o'clock to-day. This afternoon early I am to leave for Granada. 

I remain, with high respect and consideration, your obedient ser- 
vant, 

JOHN B. KEBB. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 201 



Mr. Kerr to Mr. Castillon. 

Legation of the United States of America, 

Managua, July 30, 1852. 

The undersigned, charge d'affaires of the United States, has the 
honor to acknowledge the receipt of the communication of the hon- 
orable Mr. Castillon, minister of foreign relations in Nicaragua, just 
handed to him, with a request for the transmission to Washington of 
certain modifications of the basis of settlement between Nicaragua and 
Costa Kica, proposed by the joint councils of the United States and 
Great Britain. 

It might prove a source of future embarrassment to all parties if 
the fact were disguised that the questions now at issue are no longer 
to be narrowed down to mere polemics, interminable from their very 
nature and past experience., and not at all calculated to allay the pride 
and prejudice of a quarter of a century in regard to the territorial 
limits between these conterminous States in Central America. No 
one can know better than the honorable Mr. Castillon how utterly 
groundless all hopes of conciliation and compromise must prove, after 
abortive efforts so long at adjustment, under crimination and recrim- 
ination between these respective governments and people professing 
the same holy religion, and enjoying the same language and the same 
laws. 

The paper which the undersigned had the honor to communicate 
from the city of Leon on the 23d ultimo was advisory and recommend- 
atory ; and the honest truth, never now at war with diplomatic 
etiquette, is, that the commercial world, generally, is looking to the 
noble lake and waters of Nicaragua for such a right of way as may 
be exercised in perfect harmony with the true dignity of this State 
under international rules and regulations. In regard to the impartial 
arbiter to which the decree of the honorable the senate and chamber 
of representatives refers, let the undersigned, in all sincerity, ask the 
honorable Mr. Castillon, where better and more assuredly could it be 
found than in the two greatest of maritime nations, whose words of 
advice and recommendation have just been set aside, though acting 
from no selfish purposes whatever, and in the name and behalf of the 
world at large. 

The undersigned, in deference to the wishes of the Nicaraguan govern- 
ment, expressed in the most solemn form known to her constitution, 
will at once forward the decree of the legislative body, negativing the 
proposed arrangement suggested for her onward progress, as also 
these modifications thus ripened and matured by the executive in vir- 
tue of his powers. 

The undersigned must take the occasion, however, to express his 
earnest conviction that the latter paper, after so pointed a refusal by 
the legislative branch of the government, will not in the slightest 
degree stay any such prompt action by the government of the United 
States as may be needed to advance the great enterprise of inter- 
oceanic communication, to which it stands as one of the sponsors. 

The views and feelings of another zealous and sincere sponsor, (so 



202 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

beautifully and eloquently expressed by the right honorable the Earl 
of Derby, as the British prime minister,) may not be out of place, in 
the present connexion, as essential, indeed, to disabuse the public mind 
here in Nicaragua of false impressions just now rife in regard to pre- 
sumed changes in the policy of England. On a very recent occasion, 
this distinguished peer made the following reference to the condition 
of things on this isthmus : 

"At this moment I may mention, as an illustration, that we are 
engaged with a great and powerful neighbor, whose military prowess 
all the world acknowledges, (and of whose prowess we have ourselves 
had great experience,) not in those hostile armaments which have for- 
merly deluged the world in blood, but we are engaged in a united ef- 
fort, by united councils, in endeavoring by peaceful negotiations to 
extend, not for our own individual benefit, but for the benefit of the 
world at large, the sphere of peaceful commerce through the interior 
of the vast continent of America. Our plenipotentiaries are, indeed, 
different in person, but the instructions upon which they proceed, and 
the spirit by which they are animated, are essentially and unequivo- 
cally the same." 

. Deeply sensible of the comity and kindness at all times extended to 
him, the undersigned renews to the honorable Mr. Castillon the 
assurances of his respect and most distinguished consideration. 

JOHN BOZMAN KERR. 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Hunter. 

Legation op Costa Rica, 

New York, August 6, 1852. 

Sir : I have the honor to accompany, herewith, a sealed despatch 
from the minister for foreign relations of Costa Rica to the honorable 
Secretary of State of the United States, which I have been charged to 
deliver. 

Official engagements in this city preventing my performing that 
duty personally without delay, I have been induced to employ the 
present channel, as the simplest manner to effect the early transmis- 
sion of that communication. 

In so doing, I am instructed to reiterate my government's confident 
hope that, in the final adjustment of the treaty to be signed between 
Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the governments of the United States and 
Great Britain will exercise their friendly influence to have such pro- 
visions inserted in it as may lessen the sacrifices and secure the interests 
of Costa Rica. 

Accept the renewal of my highest regards, with which I remain, 
sir, your most obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

William Hunter, Esq. , 

Acting Secretary of State, Washington. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 203 



Mr. Webster to Mr. Molina. 

Department of State, 
Washington, August 12, 1852. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of 
the 6th instant, accompanied by a sealed communication to this de- 
partment from the minister for foreign affairs of Costa Rica. 

In reply, I have the honor to inform you that your government may 
rely upon any friendly influence which it may he in the power of this 
government to exert, for the purpose of making the proposed conven- 
tion with Nicaragua and Costa Rica acceptable to the latter. 

I avail myself of this occasion, sir, to offer to you a renewed assur- 
ance of my very high consideration. 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

Sefior Don Felipe Molina, &c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Walsh to Mr. Webster. 

New York, August 15, 1852. 

Sir : I have the honor to inform you of my arrival here, yesterday, 
in the steamer Northern Light, from G-reytown. I am unable to pro- 
ceed at once to Washington, in consequence of illness. In Nicaragua 
I was attacked by fever, brought on by the unavoidable exposure and 
fatigue of travelling in that country, and am still suffering from it in 
a way that may render repose necessary for a few days. As soon as I 
can, I will report myself to you personally. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

ROBERT M. WALSH. 
Hon. Daniel Webster, 

Secretary of State. 



No. 12. 
Mr. Kerr to Mr. Webster. 

[Extract.] 

Legation of the United States of America, 

Leon de Nicaragua, September 2, 1852. 

Sir: * * * * My official note of the 31st of July, in the ac- 
companiments to No. 11, has drawn a reply which must preclude any 
future reference to documentary or other evidence, by which it could 
be pretended that the honor of the United States had been compro- 
mitted through pledges of protection to Nicaragua. Mr. Castillon 
dwelt with much earnestness on the existence of such evidence, and, 
in Mr. Walsh's presence, the like idea was subsequently reiterated by 



204 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

the minister of finance, Mr. Kocha, and echoed back by the director. 
Mr. Castillon, however, has thought proper to protest against such 
inferences from his expressions, or those of the director ; and the 
government of the United States is officially absolved. 

The Guatemala Gazette, to which I would call your attention, con- 
tains much balderdash from a recent member of the Nicaraguan legis- 
lature, evidently desirous of making capital for himself out of the 
Guanacaste question. It will serve as an index to the style of argu- 
ment in regard to the basis of settlement recommended by Mr. Cramp- 
ton and yourself. 

Nothing definitive has been heard from the city of Tequziqualpa, 
where the constituent national assembly is in session. A quorum was 
formed recently, after months of delay ; and it is apparent that Hon- 
duras is the only one of the States which has no double dealing, under 
an affectation of zeal for nationality. 

I have the honor to remain, with much respect and regard, your 
obedient servant, 

JOHN BOZMAN KEEE. 



Mr. Castillon to Mr. Kerr. 

[Translation.] 

Government House, 
Managua, August 16, 1852. 

Sir : The undersigned has the honor to reply to the official letter of 
the honorable Mr. Kerr, charge d'affaires of the United States to Ni- 
caragua, dated on the 31st of July now last. 

The undersigned does not recollect to have uttered to the honorable 
Mr. Kerr, either officially or confidentially, a sentiment from which 
he could deduce an intention to make any complaint in the name of 
the government of Nicaragua of the want of good faith on the part of 
the government of the United States in the recent convention adjusted 
at Washington with the British minister, relative to proposing bases 
for an arrangement between Costa Eica and Nicaragua on their terri- 
torial questions, and for the separation of Mosquito. That which, 
alone, the undersigned recollects to have said to the honorable Mr. 
Kerr, is, that the government of Nicaragua, in view of the bases enun- 
ciated, had come to the understanding that that of the American 
Union had proceeded, without knowledge of the case, in a business of 
such vital interest to this State, because, not only was a considerable 
portion of the possessions which Nicaragua believes to be fundament- 
ally her own conceded to Costa Eica, but also great and important 
advantages to her commerce and navigation in the rivers and lakes of 
this State — advantages which Costa Eica herself did not believe she 
could attain without making the sacrifice of pecuniary indemnifica- 
tions, which she had already offered, and which were refused — with 
the object of bringing her to those principles of justice she was under 
obligation to observe relative to the question of the Guanacaste district, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 205 

which that government has always eluded under protests not very 
justifiable. 

The undersigned, in support of his assertions, referred to a memo- 
rial which he had written in London upon these questions, and other 
unpublished documents in the keeping of the government of Nicaragua. 

As to the segregation of Mosquito, the undersigned' also declared 
to you the regret it had caused to his government that that of the 
American Union had acceded to it, notwithstanding the grounds ad- 
duced by Nicaragua for refusing to recognise in the character of an 
independent State the hordes of Indian savages who inhabit that por- 
tion of territory originally called Mosquito, which the government of 
the undersigned had the right to expect would have been recognised by 
that of the American Union, in whose States principles have been pro- 
claimed and adopted which, for identity of cause, of reason, of inter- 
est, and of object, the State of Nicaragua has maintained from the be- 
ginning of this question. 

These were the only ideas expressed by the undersigned, in relation 
to this business, at the conference to which you are pleased to allude. 

These were the very sentiments expressed by the director at the con- 
versation which took place with My. Walsh, when he was introduced 
by you without previous announcement, or any of the formality of 
ceremonial ; an annunciation which he made without emphasis, 
although with a tone of dignity not foreign to a governor who knows 
how to reconcile what is due to his honor, and the honor of the coun- 
try which he governs, with the consideration and regard which he 
owes to those of other sovereign States, at the moment when Mr. 
Walsh declared, with a certain air of disrespect and menace, " That 
the principles of international law on which the director sustained the 
rights of Nicaragua were written in Vattel, and other authors of 
treaties ; but that governments acted always as suited their interests 
and their power, and that the bases proposed by his government and 
that of Great Britain ought to have the effect of a definitive decision, 
since it was, as to them, a business brought to a close, notwithstand- 
ing any opposition on the part of that of Nicaragua." 

The undersigned, in making this explanation to you, feels the deep- 
est regret to perceive in your letter opinions which indicate a dispo- 
sition little favorable to the consolidation of the relations of friendship 
and cordial understanding existent between the republics of the United 
States and Nicaragua ; but the government of the undersigned believes, 
notwithstanding, that such disposition will readily be dissipated, and 
that once convinced of the sincerity of its sentiments, you will make 
them known to your august government, as well as the principles 
according to which it will become her to act in the negotiations rela- 
tive to the territorial questions under discussion, so as to preserve to 
Nicaragua that which is due to her propositions, her justice, and her 
interests, which are considered entirely identified with the dignity s 
principles, and interests of the United States. 

In fine, the undersigned requests you to accept the assurance of the 
high consideration and friendship with which he has the honor to be 
Mr. Kerr's very obedient, humble servant, 

FRANCISCO CASTILLON. 



206 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Mr. Castillon to Mr. Kerr. 

[Translation — Extract. ] 

Government House, 

Managua, August 3, 1852. 

Sir: * * * * * * I must 

also here say to the honorable Mr. Kerr, that the memorial which he 
has transmitted in respect to the military detachment ordered to the 
" old castle," is not accurate. 

The military force ordered to that point has no object hostile to Mr. 
Wiener ; it has no other than to constitute the guard to be stationed 
at that point, to prevent the smuggling which is carried on to the pre- 
judice of the State, by the company itself, and after having remon- 
strated with it, and protested against the establishment which was 
being formed there contrary to the reservations contained in article 
27 of the contract of the 22d of September of the year 1849. My gov- 
ernment would have congratulated itself, and would have congratu- 
lated Mr. Wiener, if, promptly leaving the castle, which is a military 
post, and an historic monument which the country should preserve, 
he should have erected his edifices at another of the many points 
which are to be found on the unoccupied and uncultivated margins of 
the San Juan. But you will comprehend that the rights of a State to 
the sites which it requires for objects of public interest and service are 
not to be postponed, nor ceded, on the mere consideration that that 
establishment is intended to facilitate the transit from one sea to the 
other. 

The consequences which may follow the occupation of the castle by 
a military force, which may obstruct Mr. Wiener in the free use of 
this building, will bear upon the company itself, which, not even in 
the way of courtesy, treated with the government to have possession of 
that point ; but, by giving too broad a construction to the 27th article 
referred to, makes to itself a donation of eight sections of ground,, on 
both banks of the river, at its own selection — a grant which, even if 
it gave the right to indicate the sites at which each section is to be 
surveyed, does not give to it the privilege to reduce them into posses- 
sion without the intervention of the government to which it belongs 
to select, as well the points which it has need of for fortifications and 
construction of buildings, as to name commissioners for the demarca- 
tion of each section. 

But these and other questions which turn on the original contract 
of the 22d of September, on its modifications, and on the last agree- 
ment of the 19th of August of the year 1851, will undoubtedly be 
arranged with the company itself, without giving them more political 
importance than that which the natural course of events and of cir- 
cumstances may suggest to the government of Nicaragua. 

Finally, this government being convinced of the need for a consu- 
lar agent of the United States at the port of San Juan del Sur, di- 
rects me to repeat to you what I said by its order in my despatch of 
21st July last — that is to say, it will confirm any provision for a con- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 207 

sul which your government may please to make of any other person 
having the confidence of that government, who is free from all obli- 
gation or committal to Nicaragua. 

My government hopes you will understand, through these explana- 
tions, that nothing is more settled than its desire to bind and cement 
the relations of friendship and good understanding which exist be- 
tween the republics of the United States and Nicaragua, as well as to 
set at a distance any cause which might change them, or lead to dis- 
agreement between the two governments. 

In this manner the director has instructed me to reply to your re- 
spected communication here referred to ; and, in making this assu- 
rance, I am honored in repeating the perfect demonstration of respect 
and esteem with which I am accustomed to subscribe myself, sir, your 
obedient, humble servant, 

FRANCISCO CASTILLON. 



Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Conrad. 

[Translation.] 

New York, October 16, 1852. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the republic of Nicaragua, has the honor to inform the Hon. Mr. 
Conrad, Secretary of State of the American Union, that he has re- 
ceived orders from his government to propose to the government of 
the Union certain modifications to the basis signed at Washington, 
on the 30th of last April, by the Hon. Daniel Webster and the min- 
ister of her Britannic Majesty. 

Consequently, the undersigned requests the Hon. Mr. Conrad that 
he will be pleased to inform him whether his government is disposed 
to listen to the propositions of Nicaragua, and to proceed to a new 
discussion upon matters which are of vital interest to both States. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity, and has the 
honor of tendering to the Hon. Mr. Conrad the assurance of his high 
and distinguished consideration. 

J. DE MARCOLETA. 

Hon. Mr. Conrad, 

Acting Secretary of State. 



No. 13. 
Mr. Kerr to Mr. Webster. 

[Extract.] 

Legation op the United States of America, 

Leon de Nicaragua, October 27, 1852, 
Sir :•*.** Coquetting had commenced between the Nicaraguans 
and some few of the townsfolk at San Juan del Norte. One hundred 
and fifty men were to be sent to the fort of San Carlos ; but they must 



208 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

prefer their present position as a free town to anything that Nicaragua 
could offer in exchange. 

Had such a scheme succeeded, the Granada party would have 
claimed the dictatorship for General Fueto Chamorro ; and the small 
force received as mere police would, in a hulletin extraordinary, have 
achieved a triumph over the United States and England combined. 
The statu quo should he insisted upon till these two States can settle 
their boundary difficulties. Any precipitancy at San Juan del Norte 
would greatly embarrass future negotiations. I have secured myself 
from chances of misconstruction by the most guarded correspondence 
at that point ; and, in fact, as facilities are here, San Juan del Norte 
is far more removed from us than from you in Washington. The 
route to California carries the Americans through the centre of the 
broad lake to Virgin bay and San Juan del Sur, so far out of the 
regular line to Granada, that letters and papers seldom reach here 
under two months. The duplicate of No. 15 was handed to me by a 
Granada merchant, immediately from New York, and despatch No. 
14 has not reached me. ***** 

I have the honor to remain, with high respect and regard, your 
obedient servant, 

JOHN BOZMAN KERR. 



Mr. Conrad to Mr. Marcoleta. 

Department of State, 

Washington, October 28, 1852, 

Sir : Your note of the 16th instant has been received. 

The President directs me to say, in reply, that, at the solicitation of 
the republic of Nicaragua, this government was induced to interpose 
its good offices in order to bring about, if possible, a settlement of the 
long-pending territorial difficulties between Great Britain and the 
so-called Mosquito nation and herself. It succeeded in obtaining the 
assent of Great Britain to an arrangement which, although it did not 
award to Nicaragua all the territory she claimed, awarded to her 
much more than Great Britain had ever before consented to admit to 
belong to her. 

This arrangement, however, whether advantageous or not to Nica- 
ragua, was only recommended to her, leaving it to her discretion to 
adopt or reject it. 

But not satisfied with rejecting it, (which they had a perfect right 
to do,) the legislative assembly of Nicaragua saw fit "solemnly to 
protest against all foreign interference in the affairs of their govern- 
ment." Had this censure, as unjust as it was unexpected, emanated 
from a more powerful nation, this government would, from a proper 
sense of what was due to its own dignity, have declined any further 
connexion with the subject. But, as it is unwilling that the import- 
ant interests involved in this controversy should be compromitted by 
what it is inclined to consider an inconsiderate resolve of the govern- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 209 

ment of Nicaragua, I am directed to say that any propositions ema- 
nating from that government will be received and respectfully con- 
sidered. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assurance 
of my high consideration. 

C. M. CONRAD, 

Acting Secretary. 
Senor Don Jose db Marcoleta, <&c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Conrad. 

[Translation.] 

Legation of Nicaragua, 

New Yo?-h, November 2, 1852. 

My dear Sir : The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister 
plenipotentiary of the republic of Nicaragua, has had the honor to 
receive the despatch which the Hon. Mr. Conrad, acting Secretary of 
State, has been pleased to address him, under date of the 28th of Octo- 
ber last, in reply to his communication of the 16th of the same month. 

The aforesaid despatch contains two essential points : 

The first relates to the terms in which the legislative assembly of 
Nicaragua refused its sanction to the bases signed in Washington on 
the 30th of last April, by the Hon. Daniel Webster, of national and 
civic memory, and her Britannic Majesty's representative to the United 
States of North America. 

The second merely goes to show that the President, with that 
kindness which is characteristic of him, and in consideration of the 
vital interests that are involved in the territorial questions between 
Great Britain, Nicaragua, and Costa Bica, is disposed to listen to, and 
to take into consideration, the propositions that may be made by the 
government of Nicaragua. 

With regard to the first point, the undersigned may be allowed to 
call the attention of the honorable acting Secretary of State to the 
motives which actuated the members of the legislative assembly of 
Nicaragua in issuing the decree of the 19th of July, 1852. 

First of all, although it is true that in the preamble to the aforesaid 
bases it was laid down that the latter were merely recommendatory, 
yet the chambers did not fail to notice that, in the last article, it was 
intimated to the government that on such bases being rejected, or fail- 
ing to respond to them in proper time, the United States and Great 
Britain would, by themselves, adopt such measures as they might 
think necessary, in order properly to carry out the stipulations con- 
tained in the treaty concluded between the United States and Eng- 
land on the 19th of April, 1850. 

The legislative assembly of Nicaragua saw nothing in this clause 
but a contradiction and a threat. 
14a 



210 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

A contradiction, because the assembly had fully in mind the first 
article, to which reference was made, and in which both England and 
the United States, according to the text, renounced all ideas of occu- 
pation, every kind of jurisdiction and protection in Central America, 
especially as regarded Costa Eica, Nicaragua, and Mosquito ; and be- 
cause it saw, notwithstanding such binding clauses, that G-reat Britain 
was assuming the right of a protective power, in order to treat in the 
name of the protected party, the Mosquito chief ; it appearing to the 
legislative assembly that the government of the American Union 
might very well have avoided the interference of Great Britain in these 
questions, by merely asking and exacting from her a faithful, precise, 
and strict adherence to the article mentioned in the treaty aforesaid. 
Nor did the general assembly think that the right of conquest, which 
England arrogated to herself to the port of San Juan, could, in any 
way, be admitted without setting up and establishing a precedent 
which would be pernicious to the tranquillity, security, and independ- 
ence of nations. England was fully at peace with Nicaragua when 
the former took forcible possession of said port, for the restitution of 
which a price is demanded of the latter, in the bases, which is both 
unjust, excessive, and exorbitant. 

The assembly could not help wondering, at the same time, at the 
kind of imperative manner in which the government was asked to 
give an immediate answer, knowing that the first despatch which its 
plenipotentiary in Washington had the honor of addressing to the 
Department of State on the 24th of February, 1851 — a despatch con- 
taining and treating of a question of vital interest to Nicaragua — had 
remained unanswered ; and that a reply to the same had always been 
evaded, under various pretexts, for a period of seventeen months ; and 
that this reply was still waited for at the present day. 

A threat, because the assembly looked upon the articles contained 
in the bases aforesaid as offensive and aggressive in many of their 
provisions to the national sovereignty ; articles and provisions totally 
and diametrically opposed to and at variance with the instructions which 
the assembly itself had examined, discussed, and approved ; and recom- 
mended the government to transmit to its plenipotentiary at Wash- 
ington, who received them in due time, the same instructions which 
called forth the protest the undersigned plenipotentiary found himself 
compelled to address to the honorable Secretary of State, Mr. Daniel 
Webster. 

To these, and other considerations of various kinds, may be added 
the conduct pursued by Mr. Walsh, who neither presented nor recom- 
mended, but mentioned, the bases to the supreme magistrate of the 
State, in whose official residence he introduced himself without being 
previously announced ; without showing afterwards, either in his lan- 
guage or his deportment, the respect due to the representative of the 
supreme magistracy ; breaking out into threats unbecoming the place 
where he was, and to his own self-respect, and the decorum due to the 
government which had sent him there as commissioner, and to the 
chief magistrate of the State ; all of which conduct, standing out in 
singular contrast with the courtesy, circumspection, and amenity of 
Mr. Wyke, the British consul, who was intrusted with a similar mis- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 211 

sion, was the cause of the unpalatable truths which Mr. Walsh heard 
from the lips of the supreme director of the State. 

In reviewing the circumstances above stated, it is not the purpose 
of the undersigned to indulge in any kind of recrimination ; his object 
is simply to show to the honorable acting Secretary of State that the 
terms, and the language in which the legislative decree of the 19th of 
July last was conceived, were solely the result of a fatal combination 
of circumstances, which the government of Nicaragua regrets as much 
as that of the American Union, but which, nevertheless, the irresist- 
ible force of public opinion, of the duties incumbent upon the legisla- 
tive assembly and the executive power, could not otherwise than have 
compelled the adoption of, as most conformable to the interests and 
rights which each of the powers aforesaid is respectively called upon 
to defend and protect. 

The undersigned, being convinced that the foregoing statement will 
suffice to mitigate, and certainly do away with the impression pro- 
duced on the minds of the President and of the honorable Secretary of 
State, relative to the conduct which an imperative sense of duty on 
this occasion compelled Nicaragua to pursue, and reiterating, at the 
same time, to the honorable acting Secretary of State, the sincere and 
ardent wishes of Nicaragua to cultivate and to continue on the best 
and most cordial friendly terms with the government of the American, 
Union, he will now have the honor of explaining to him the meana ; 
which Nicaragua considers best calculated to secure a favorable result, 
and to put an end at once to the existing state of things with the 
least possible detriment to the parties interested. 

The government of Nicaragua thinks, and has the honor at the- same 
time to submit to the American government, that the 1st and 2d arti- 
cles of the bases of the 30th of April last may, with propriety, be 
mended ; and with this view it begs to suggest, and is ready to adopt, 
a new wording, modified as follows : 

"The Mosquito Indians, and the territory known by that name, in- 
cluding the port of San Juan del Norte, shall in future, and for all 
times, be incorporated with, and re-annexed to, the State of Nicara- 
gua, in which they shall enjoy the same rights, and be subject to the 
same obligations, as the rest of the inhabitants of the State, said ter- 
ritory being considered as one of its departments ; and, as such, it will 
contribute representatives and senators to the legislative chambers, in 
the form and on the principles specified by special law. The commerce 
of said territory with the other portions of the State shall be entirely 
free and open, both by land and water, for the navigation of vessels 
and the transit of vehicles, which shall enjoy the utmost security. 

"Nicaragua binds herself to grant to the Mosquito Indians, by way 
of indemnification, in consequence of the improvements made in the 
port of San Juan del Norte — 

"1st. Four per cent, on the net proceeds of said port for a period 
of five years ; this sum to be paid annually by the collector of the port 
into the hands of the municipal authorities hereafter to be established 
there, in order that the same may be invested in objects of oommon 
advantage to those inhabitants. 



212 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

"2d. Nicaragua shall assign an equitable annuity for life to the 
cacique or chief of the Mosquitos. 

"3d. Nicaragua will pledge herself to recognise, and to respect as 
lawful, the grants of lands that may have been made since the 1st of 
January, 1848, until the present day, by the authorities of the Mos- 
quito territory, with the exception of those grants that are in opposi- 
tion to the grants of lands made by the Spanish government, by the 
federal government of Central America, and by the government of 
Nicaragua, and those grants which clash with the privileges of the 
canal companies accessory to the way of transit, or when the lands 
thus granted are located at those points which the State wants for 
building forts, custom-houses, arsenals, and other public edifices, 
which points shall remain at the disposal of said State. 

"The port of San Juan shall preserve this, its original appellation; 
and the public municipal authority shall be exercised in the name of 
the State, in the same manner as in all the other parts of the territory 
incorporated with and annexed to Nicaragua in virtue of the present 
treaty. 

"The republic of Nicaragua, with a view of facilitating the con- 
struction of the great inter-oceanic canal on the terms stipulated in 
the contract of September 22, 1849, binds herself not to construct, nor 
to allow the construction of, any work which might interfere with the 
labors of the canal, or the navigation and entrance of the ports, rivers, 
and lakes, where it may be necessary to carry on those works of inter- 
oceanic communication ; it being well understood that the exclusive 
right granted to the company accessory to the transit enterprise, and 
the power which is conferred upon the same by the 1st article of the 
agreement of August 19, 1851, is not to exceed the bounds and objects 
specified in the 30th article of the original contract of September 22, 
1849, the scope of which is to promote the speedy construction of the 
canal, in case the latter should not be practicable, as it has been stated 
to the company ; which company must strictly submit to the provisions 
of said article 30th, agreeably to the stipulations contained in the 9th 
article of agreement of August 19, 1851, alluded to. 

' ' In case the inter-oceanic communication should be effected, either 
wholly or in part, through the territory of Nicaragua, the United 
States and England shall become respectively bound to unite their 
efforts to those of the government of Nicaragua in order to guaranty 
the neutrality of this important way of communication, with a view 
of protecting the sovereignty of the State, and the free transit against 
all seizure or confiscation, on the same terms, and in all such cases, 
as are specified in the 5th article of the treaty of April 19, 1850, ad- 
justed between the United States and Great Britain. 

"And with a view of fixing the distance within which vessels of all 
nations must be exempt from blockade, detention, or capture, by any 
of the belligerent parties, in case of war, this distance shall be de- 
clared to extend for thirty nautical miles, from the water-mark at low 
tide, at both extremities of the canal. 

"It being desirous that no time should be lost in beginning the 
construction of said canal, the governments of the United States, 
Great Britain, and Nicaragua, shall agree, that in case the company, 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 213 

recipient of the grant, should not succeed, within the term of one year, 
counting from the date of the ratification of the treaty, in obtaining 
the subscription of a capital necessary and sufficient for executing the 
work, or in case of there being any other insurmountable natural im- 
pediment to prevent the construction of the same, in the same manner 
as in regard to the construction of a railroad, in such case there shall 
be no obligation on the part of Nicaragua to observe and abide by 
said contract, and the company shall lose the privilege. 

" The government of Nicaragua, having consulted that of the United 
States and of Great Britain, shall grant the privilege to any other 
company, upon such conditions and stipulations as shall be most suit- 
able for carrying out so stupendous a project. 

" The transit company shall enjoy the same protection as was guar- 
antied in the treaty of April 19, 1850, to the Atlantic-Pacific Canal 
Company, provided that the former confines itself to the object of 
promoting and facilitating the construction of the canal, on the same 
terms as those stipulated in the 30th article of the original contract 
of September 22, 1849, which shall be inviolably observed, in con- 
formity with the provisions of the 9th article of the agreement of 
August 19, 1851 ; it being understood that any other article in said 
agreement, tending to alter the sense of the above, shall be considered 
as null, of no value nor effect, and the power previously granted to 
the company shall cease." 

Such are the modifications which the undersigned has been directed 
to suggest to the government of the United States, concerning the Mos- 
quito question, the port of San Juan, and the canal and transit com- 
panies. Those which relate to the two companies, however, are not 
definite. This is another proof that the government of Nicaragua is 
disposed to favor, in all that depends upon itself, the construction of 
an inter-oceanic communication, without intending to constitute itself 
the protector of a new speculation on the part of any number of per- 
sons or companies, not actuated by a similar desire to carry out a 
work so advantageous to the commerce of the world. 

The canal and transit companies are now in a different position 
from that which they occupied at first, before they had invited Eu- 
ropean capitalists to take part in this gigantic work ; and not being 
able to command at present, from all appearances, the necessary capi- 
tal, nor the means to carry out the undertaking by themselves, they 
would want to obtain some modifications in the original contract — 
modifications to which the government of Nicaragua cannot pledge 
itself a priori, before having seriously considered the subject, as well 
as consulted the great powers friendly to said government. 

The modifications, therefore, that may be required" by said compa- 
nies, are henceforth subjected to others, according to the condition in 
which said companies find themselves, or according to the greater or 
lesser guaranties and probabilities which they may offer, of being 
able to consummate an undertaking which shall be entitled to general 
approbation. 

m Moreover, according to the legal opinion of that worthy and dis- 
tinguished jurist, Daniel Lord, of New York, the conduct and actual 
management of these companies has given rise to well-founded suspi- 



214 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

cions, in consequence of the excesses and irregularities committed by 
their agents in Nicaragua, the tone and complexion of their official 
communications, and especially on account of their having evaded, 
under specious pretexts, the performance of many of the obligations 
to which they were pledged by the contracts of April 22, 1849, and 
of August 19, 1851. 

"With regard to the territorial boundaries between Nicaragua and 
Costa Kica, although Nicaragua is of opinion that this is a family 
question, which ought to be settled between its own members, avoid- 
ing thereby those rocks upon which all the efforts that have been 
made, until now, for the settlement of the main question have been 
wrecked ; which have, at the same time, served as an obstacle against 
the consummation of the splendid project of peace and good harmony 
between all, and for the establishment of a canal on the isthmus of 
Nicaragua ; yet the government, being desirous to give some evidence 
of the wishes by which it is actuated, to secure a good understanding 
between two sister republics, comes forward to manifest its solicitude 
for the mutual welfare of both, without jeopardizing, however, the 
important interests which said government is bound to protect and to 
defend. 

And if by chance the government of the United States thinks it 
proper that the settlement of this question should henceforth be re- 
solved and included in some treaty which circumstances may give 
occasion for, Nicaragua makes the following propositions : 

" The boundaries between Nicaragua and Costa Rica shall be the 
same as were formerly comprised by the old province of Nicaragua, 
to wit : from the Rio del Salto, in the Pacific, following a diagonal 
line towards the interior, to the Rio Paritina, in the Atlantic. 

" At the same time Nicaragua pledges herself that the navigation 
of those rivers which are located within the boundaries of Nicaragua, 
from the point where they begin to be navigable, as well as the waters 
of the lake, lakes, and all navigable waters generally, shall be en- 
tirely free and common to the subjects of each State, without any 
restriction, nor any special condition favoring one party more than 
the other ; it being understood that the citizens of Costa Rica, as 
well as those of Nicaragua, shall be subject to the only limitation es- 
tablished by the 23d article of the contract concluded with the canal 
company on the 22d of September, 1849, and that they shall conform 
with all the regulations concerning the navigation law and the other 
laws of the State." 

Costa Rica shall, moreover, enjoy the following privileges : 

" 1. Entire exemption from importation duties for the port of San 
Juan during a period often years. 

"2. Absolute exemption, for all time, from duties on exported 
articles of her own produce and manufacture for said port. 

"3. Equal immunity and freedom, for all time, to navigate the Rio 
Serapiqui, with the obligation of constructing, at her own expense, 
(Costa Rica's) the works necessary to render said river navigable, and 
to preserve it in the condition it will be after the works necessary for 
such purpose shall have been executed. 

"4. To establish at the confluence of the rivers San Juan and Sera- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 215 

piqui, or at any other point she may think proper, custom-houses, 
stores, warehouses, and revenue stations. 

"5. The privilege empowering her subjects to keep, in the port of 
San Juan, warehouses for depositing such merchandise as they may 
have to import through the interior of her territory, for a period of 
fifteen years ; these points to he adjusted and agreed upon by means 
of a special convention, which shall, at the same time, designate the 
mode and the manner in which the boundaries of the frontier between 
the two States have to be established." 

The government of Nicaragua hopes that the foregoing modifica- 
tions and propositions, which embrace the various points in question, 
will meet with the approbation of the government of the United States, 
and that, with the zeal and interest it has always manifested for good 
harmony and friendly relations between the parties interested, it will 
contribute to the acceptation, on the part of all, of an arrangement 
which Nicaragua considers the most just and equitable for the common 
and general interests, obtaining in this manner, and very briefly, the 
results which are desired. 

The undersigned begs the honorable acting Secretary of State that 
he will be pleased to submit the contents of this despatch to the pres- 
ident of the republic, and at the same time he avails himself of this 
new opportunity to renew to him the assurances of his high and dis- 
tinguished consideration. 

J. DE MAKCOLETA. 

Hon. Mr. Conrad, 

Acting Secretary of State, Washington. 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Everett. 

Legation of Costa Eica, 
Washington, November 11, 1852. 

The undersigned, minister of Costa Eica, has the honor of address- 
ing himself to the honorable Secretary of State, for the purpose of 
calling his attention to the unfinished state of the negotiations set on 
foot by this government in the month of last April, respecting the 
settlement of the territorial differences and other matters pending be- 
tween the State of Nicaragua and the republic of Costa Eica, and be- 
tween the former State and the Mosquito Indians. 

Mr. Everett is, no doubt, aware that his illustrious and lamented 
predecessor in office, the honorable Daniel Webster, in concert with 
Mr. Crampton, her Britannic Majesty's minister to this government, 
and with a view of facilitating the construction of the contemplated 
ship-canal, took pains to draw a plan of adjustment in as fair and 
equitable terms as it was possible, under existing circumstances, to de- 
vise. 

That project having been agreed upon and signed on the 30th of 
April, it was to be recommended to the immediate and earnest con- 
sideration of the governments of Costa Eica and Nicaragua respect 



216 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

ively, by means of special agents sent there for the purpose, as it ap- 
peared desirable to insure their prompt decision. Mr. Walsh was 
accordingly appointed, on the part of the United States, and was au- 
thorized to communicate on the subject with the governments afore- 
said, acting in connexion with Mr. Wyke, the newly appointed Brit- 
ish consul-general to Central America, then on his way to his future 
sphere of action. 

For greater despatch, the two commissioners were conveyed to their 
destination in an American man-of-war, showing thereby that there 
was a determination to bring matters to a speedy issue. 

The commissioners directed their course first to San Jose, where 
they met the cordial welcome that the nature of their errand and 
their personal merits entitled them to expect. 

The government of Costa Eica, however, having fully considered 
the propositions presented by them, could not fail to find strong ob- 
jections in regard to some of the arrangements contemplated. The 
direct advantages of the inter-oceanic communication were intended 
by these arrangements to accrue exclusively to Nicaragua, as long as 
the company's charters lasted ; the boundary of Costa Eica was to be 
removed from the northernmost branch of the river San Juan to the 
Colorado branch ; the Atlantic-Pacific Ship Canal Company was to be 
allowed to locate on the Costa Eican side of the river San Juan cer- 
tain sections of land that Nicaragua had granted to it, in defiance of 
the sovereignty of Costa Eica over those territories. 

It is a well-known fact, that neither the government of Nicaragua 
nor the company to which the already mentioned privileges had been 
granted had, in their mutual transactions, paid any regard to the 
claims of Costa Eica, as if the latter republic had no right to be a 
party in the affair ; and it was natural, therefore, for the government 
of Costa Eica to feel itself aggrieved on the subject. 

Nevertheless, desirous of removing any difficulties that might im- 
pede the success of the canal enterprise, on the conviction that it is 
always judicious to compromise matters in dispute, and from a sense 
of grateful regard for the powers that were thus exerting their kind 
mediation and proffering their advice, the government of Costa Eica 
gave, on the 22d of June, with the sanction of the legislature, an un- 
qualified assent to the propositions recommended, confining itself to 
invoke the friendly offices of the mediating powers in order to obtain 
some slight modifications in favor of Costa Eica. 

Nicaragua, on the other side, who had been the most favored party, 
by the provisions of the proposed adjustment, has shown quite a dif- 
ferent disposition. The government of that country has rejected the 
project in a manner which, to say the least, deserves to be qualified 
as very inconsiderate ; while the counter-propositions of the 29th of 
July, presented to the commissioners in that quarter, require no com- 
ment on the part of the undersigned; such propositions being nothing 
more than a demand that every point at issue should be settled ac- 
cording to the views of that government. This unsatisfactory result 
must have proved to the American cabinet that there is no hope of 
ever bringing that State to a correct appreciation of its position, in- 
terests, and duties. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 217 

In the meantime, Costa Eica stands in a false position, having 
pledged herself to abide by the opinion of the governments of the 
United States and Great Britain, as set forth in the propositions, with- 
out obtaining in exchange any security against the assumptions and 
encroachments of Nicaragua ; the adoption of other means of self-de- 
fence being denied to her, whilst her rights are actually disregarded, 
and her interests deeply injured in various ways. 

It seems to the undersigned that the governments of the United 
States and G-reat Britain are both pledged by the concluding words of 
the project to take a final action on the premises. Costa Eica, trust- 
ing on this declaration, did not hesitate to concur in their views. 

The undersigned, therefore, in compliance with the repeated in- 
structions he has received from his government, begs leave to call the 
attention of the honorable Secretary of State to the expediency and 
propriety of concluding a treaty between Costa Eica and the United 
States, according to the tenor of the propositions ; Costa Eica, on one 
part, agreeing to convey, on her own and indisputable title, to the 
American Atlantic- Pacific Ship Canal Company the right of way, 
privileges of navigation, and sections of land ; all of which conces- 
sions that company is in need of at present, in order to legitimate the 
tenure of its charters : and the United States, on the other part, en- 
gaging to support Costa Eica in the maintenance of her boundaries 
and rights against the assumptions of Nicaragua. 

This proceeding appears to the undersigned to be the only course 
now open for both parties, in order to terminate this affair, which has 
been kept in suspense since Mr. Walsh's return, three months ago. 
Any further attempts at negotiation with Nicaragua would, no doubt, 
result in fresh disappointments. 

The minister of Costa Eica earnestly and respectfully requests Mr. 
Everett's early attention to the contents of this note, trusting that the 
conduct of Costa Eica in the premises has been duly appreciated by 
the American government. 

And he has the honor of renewing to Mr. Everett the assurance of 
his very distinguished consideration, with which he begs to remain 
his most obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. Edward Everett, 

Secretary of State of the United States. 



mr. Molina's project for the settlement of central American affairs. 

Suggestions as to the course that may he adopted for the settlement of the 
Central American affairs. 

Firstly. A treaty can be signed between the United States and Costa 
Eica, as I have proposed, providing the maintenance of the state of 
things contemplated by the propositions of April, as regards Costa 
Eica and Nicaragua and the canal company ; such state of things to 
be considered as a finality. 



218 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Secondly. Should this plan not seem advisable, a treaty could be 
concluded between the United States and Costa Eica, stipulating the 
maintenance of the contemplated arrangements as regards Costa Kica, 
Nicaragua, and the canal company, only as a temporary settlement, 
to be kept until such a time as the governments of Costa Eica and 
Nicaragua shall effect a peaceful adjustment of their differences, either 
by a direct agreement or through arbitration : provided that these 
temporary settlements shall not prejudice any of the claims of the con- 
tending parties, which claims shall be discussed and adjudicated upon 
in their full extent and in all their bearings. 

Thirdly. With reference to the Mosquito part of the affair, should 
it appear advisable to transfer Greytown to Costa Rica, this republic 
will accept the transfer on the terms proposed to the advantage of the 
Mosquito Indians ; granting likewise municipal privileges to the in- 
habitants of that port, and a perfect freedom of trade. Costa Eica 
would be willing, likewise, to hold that place only as a kind of trust, 
until such a time as Nicaragua shall give its acquiescence on the same 
conditions, and reimburse Costa Eica for the outlays which she would 
have made in order to pay the indemnity to the Mosquito Indians, or 
for other objects regarding the possession of that port. 

Washington, November 17, 1852. 



Mr. Walsh to Mr. Everett. 

[Extracts.] 

Washington, November 19, 1852. 

Sir : I have had the honor to receive your communication of yester- 
day, enclosing an extract from a note of the minister of Nicaragua, in 
which I am accused of grossly improper conduct towards the govern- 
ment of that country. I at once pronounce the accusation to be false. 

********* 

After accomplishing my mission to Costa Eica, I proceeded, in pur- 
suance of my instructions, to Managua, for the purpose of getting any 
despatches which our charge d'affaires might wish to send by me to 
the United States. Before my arrival there, the propositions of Great 
Britain and the United States, for the settlement of boundaries, had 
been rejected by the government of Nicaragua, in a way that indica- 
ted feelings of great irritation. I remained a few days in Managua, 
to give Mr. Kerr time to prepare his despatches, and deemed it proper, 
whilst there, to pay my personal respects to the minister of foreign 
affairs. Accordingly, I called upon him in company with Mr. Kerr, 
by whom I was introduced in due form. In the same apartment with 
him were the president and two other ministers of state ; and to them, 
also, I was presented, although my visit was only meant for Mr. Cas- 
tillon. After a few complimentary allusions to the beauty of their 
country, I said that, although I held no official position in regard to 
them, and had, therefore, no right to speak to them on official matters, 



CENTEAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 219 

yet I hoped they would permit me to express my regret at not being 
able to take to the United States a favorable answer from them to the 
propositions, such as had been given by the government of Costa Bica. 
This led to a conversation on the subject of the treaty, in which, as 
they seemed disposed to carry it on, I endeavored, to the best of my 
ability, to make them sensible of the mistake they had committed in 
refusing the propositions, by representing to them the benefits which, 
in my opinion, would accrue from their acceptance, and the evils 
which would flow from their rejection. 

As I was talking merely as a private individual, I thought myself 
free to speak more unreservedly than, perhaps, would have been "di- 
plomatic," if any official relations between us had existed. This fact 
they must have perfectly understood ; and the charge, therefore, of 
"neither presenting nor recommending, but mentioning the bases," 
is simply absurd, as far as the non-presentation of those bases is con- 
cerned, I having, as they well knew, no authority to present them : 
as to the non-recommendation of them, it is absolutely false, for I 
urged every argument in their favor that could be employed. To the 
next charge, that of "introducing myself to the supreme magistrate 
without being previously announced/' the foregoing account of my 
visit is an answer quite sufficient to show how contemptible it is. 
Equally false is the charge that I broke out into threats, or showed 
disrespect in either language or deportment. If any one were obnoxious 
to the imputation of unbecoming behavior, it would be the president 
himself, in the remarks that he ventured to make about the govern- 
ment of the United States, which he accused of breach of faith in its 
conduct towards Nicaragua. That my indignation was aroused by 
this accusation, and that I replied to it with emphasis, I freely avow. 
I should indeed have been wanting in " self-respect," and in the re- 
spect due to my government, if I had not done so ; but that I went a 
step beyond the limits of decorum, I deny. My language might, with 
all propriety, have been more energetic even than it was, in repelling 
the unwarrantable remarks on this head of both the president and the 
ministers. An idea of them may be derived from the fact that Mr. 
Kerr deemed it his duty to address a note to the minister of foreign 
affairs, soon after the conversation, asking for the evidence on which 
they were based, no answer to which had been given up to the time of 
my departure. I presume that " the unpalatable truths" which it is 
said that I heard "from the lips of the supreme director of the State," 
were these aspersions on the government of the Union, as I can recol- 
lect nothing else that was uttered to which the phrase can refer. 

The truth is, sir, that the government of Nicaragua was in very 
aaagry mood against that of the United States. It had been led to 
believe that our government would sustain its pretensions in every 
way, and its irritation was great on discovering its mistake. Conflata 
magna invidia, seu bene, seu male, gesta premunt. The good under- 
standing between the American and British cabinets was unpalatable 
to it in the extreme,, giving, as it did, a death-blow to its hopes of 
profiting by the rivalry of the two powers. It was also engaged in 
vexatious disputes with the transit company ; and not long before my 
arrival serious difficulties had occurred with the American residents 



220 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

in the town of Granada. The idea, moreover, of yielding aught to 
Costa Eica, hating that country as it does for its immense superiority 
in all that renders a nation respectable and prosperous, was more 
exasperating even than the loss of the most valuable territories and 
privileges. It would, indeed, be matter of deep regret if our govern- 
ment had in any way abetted its enmity to the Costa Eicans, who, by 
their industry, integrity, and progress, are doing credit to republican 
institutions. ****** 

I beg pardon for trespassing at such length upon your patience, but 
I am anxious to remove at once from your mind the slightest sus- 
picion that I could be guilty of such conduct as is charged. I have 
been many years in the diplomatic service of the country, and this is 
the first time that aught to my disparagement has been placed on the 
files of the Department of State ; whilst I might adduce various testi- 
monials on record there of the manner in which I have discharged my 
duties, as evidence of the improbability of guilt in the present in- 
stance. * * * Nevertheless, as Mr. Kerr was present at the 
interview, I respectfully request that you will send him copies of the 
accusation against me, and my reply, in order that his testimony as 
to what passed may be obtained. 

I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient 
servant, 

EOBEET M. WALSH. 

Hon. Edward Everett, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Kerr to the Secretary of State. 

[Extract.] 

[No. 14.] Legation op the United States of America, 

Leon de Nicaragua, January 13, 1853. 

Sir :****** Guatemala and Costa Eica boldly avow 
that they intend to remain as they are, distinct republics ; and Salva- 
dor, with actual revenues and available resources, through the import- 
ant seaport in the gulf of Fonseca — the entrepot, in fact, for the 
whole country — must necessarily be trammelled just now by a political 
connexion with States so unsettled as Honduras'and Nicaragua. This 
sentiment is deeply fixed in the minds of the intelligent men of San 
Salvador, while the importance of nationality is understood and ap- 
preciated by all classes of persons. 

In Nicaragua and Honduras there is no heartfelt reverence for the 
principle, and, with much more of bluster and pretence, it has now be- 
come a mere juggle of state to cozen others. 

The idea artfully disseminated among these poor people is, that 
England, in fear and jealousy of their growing power and importance, 
stands in awe of a confederation, against which it is essential for her 
interests to be constantly aiming an envious missile. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 221 

The possession of the Belize by the English is a fixed fact, dating 
hack many years as against Spain, and the Mosquito question has "been 
a subject for discussion and negotiation for nearly two centuries. It 
is now questionable to whom this insalubrious sweep of country on the 
Atlantic helongs ; while in view of our policy in regard to Indian 
tribes, the protectorate of Mosquito must he taken as a shift and sub- 
terfuge. Save at one or two points at the mouths of the rivers, it is 
along its whole extent a wilderness, unexplored and almost inacces- 
sible. Held by Spain as a sort of trust-fund for the benefit of her 
transatlantic possessions when disposed to traffic, New Granada, to 
this day, makes continual claims for a sliver, notwithstanding the 
possession of the States proper of Central America. Guatemala and 
Costa Eica, seemingly indifferent to the discussion of these political 
questions, have been bending their energies to the development of 
trade. Such lukewarmness has been stamped with opprobrious epi- 
thets, and they are hated yet the more for their evident prosperity. 
There might now be just grounds of objection to the strong executive 
power as wielded by General Carrera, but it is in virtue of a consti- 
tutive act, behind which the leading men there hope to find a breath- 
ing time for progress, social as well as political. The influence of 
Guatemala is very marked. The city has its schools of law and medi- 
cine, and it has been the fashion to look upon it as the headquarters 
of learning and refinement. The government is not permitted, how- 
ever, to enjoy the requisite repose, as there is a party in the moun- 
tains, under the name of Lucios, (from a chief executed as a felon some 
years ago,) infesting the highways and keeping up a constant state of 
alarm — so confident at times in strength and numbers as to have 
threatened the capital. These mountaineers, partially quelled by 
General Carrera, are supplied with arms and suborned, it is alleged, 
by Salvador and Honduras. Eecently, matters have been brought to 
a crisis, as in the pursuit of some fugitives the Guatemala officers 
have not hesitated to cross the frontier. The peace policy of Salva- 
dor, under Mr. Duenas, has led to something like accommodation, 
but the latest intelligence from Honduras is that a force has been 
called out by General Cabanas, the president, to meet fifteen hundred 
men now led by General Carrera. The fair at Esquipulas is at hand, 
and the Guatemala Gazette mentions General Carrera' s departure in 
that direction with a small number of men. This may have been ex- 
aggerated for some political purpose in Honduras. There have been 
intimations given of the application of forcible measures to sustain 
nationality, in case the programme of the Tequizqualpa convention 
be not accepted. A somewhat notorious character — a sort of free 
companion, after the irregular practice of the middle ages, professing 
military skill — is now lying perdu at Managua. The presence of 
Guardiola in this State, trifling in itself, is yet particularly suspi- 
cious, as it indicates a settled apprehension of political turbulence on 
the part of the Nicaraguan government. 

***** j k ave tlie honor to be, with very distinguished 
consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, 

JOHN BOZMAN KERB. 



222 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



Mr. Molina to Mr. Marcy. 

Legation of Costa Eica, 

Washington, September 26, 1853. 

The undersigned, minister of Costa Eica, thinks it his duty to tres- 
pass once more upon the time of the honorable Secretary of State with 
reference to the long-pending negotiation for the adjustment of the 
differences between Costa Eica and Nicaragua, and of the questions 
concerning the Mosquito coast. 

The government of Costa Eica apprehends that there is a disposi- 
tion on the part of the American government to confine the nego- 
tiation with Great Britain, that Mr. Buchanan, is going to take up 
again in London, to that part only which regards the Mosquito terri- 
tory and the port of San Juan del Norte, without making any arrange- 
ment respecting the conflicting claims of Costa Eica and Nicaragua. 

Heretofore the constant policy of this government has aimed at dis- 
posing of all those matters in one general settlement, in order to meet 
the interests of the several parties concerned ; and the undersigned, 
with due respect for the reasons that may have suggested a change of 
views, does not hesitate to say that, in the opinion of his government, 
the course formerly pursued would still be the most consistent with 
justice. 

But should a different one be adopted, and supposing that, in con- 
sequence of an arrangement with England, the port of San Juan 
should be transferred to Nicaragua, the government of Costa Eica 
flatters itself that such a transfer shall not be made but under certain 
qualifications, with a view to preserve the claims of Costa Eica to one 
half of the same port, and to the other objects in litigation, unimpaired 
and unprejudiced. 

Since the occupation of San Juan by the Mosquitos, on the 1st of 
January, 1848, the position of Costa Eica, as regards her differences 
with Nicaragua, has become a highly disadvantageous one, owing to 
the support that the pretensions of the latter republic have derived 
from the formation and establishment of the American companies 
holding the canal and transit charters, and from the opinions ex- 
pressed in official documents in favor of Nicaragua by Mr. Squier, 
when he was charge d'affaires of the United States in that country. 

Hence it follows that the transfer of San Juan to Nicaragua, if 
done without any qualifications, would no longer be a restoration of 
the ancient state of things, when the contending parties (Costa Eica ' 
and Nicaragua) were both left to their own resources and titles, each 
of them unaided by foreign intervention ; but that, on the contrary, 
it would operate as the consecration of a new state of things decidedly 
injurious for one of the parties ; a result at variance with the avowed 
policy of this nation, which professes an equal friendship and im- 
partial regard for each of the contending republics. 

The deference shown by Costa Eica, on previous occasions, to the 
advice of the American government, and her readiness to terminate the 
existing difficulties, by any means in use among civilized nations, are 
circumstances which the undersigned trusts will always be remem- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 223 

bered as entitling that country to the regard and kind offices of the 
United States. 

On this reliance, the undersigned ventures to request that Mr. 
Marcy will have the goodness to address particular instructions, 
if necessary, to the distinguished representative of the United States 
near her Britannic Majesty. 

The undersigned has the honor to remain, with the highest consid- 
eration, Mr. Marcy' s most obedient, humble servant, 

F. MOLINA. 

Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State of the United States. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Molina. 

Department of State, 
Washington, October 14, 1853. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the 
honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note of Mr. Molina, envoy 
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Costa Eica, of the 28th 
ultimo, and to assure him, in reply, that there is no just grounds for 
his apprehension that the rights of his government may be prejudiced 
or in any way disregarded by any arrangements which Mr. Buchanan 
may enter into with Great Britain in regard to the affairs of Central 
America. In several interviews with Mr. Molina, the undersigned 
has had occasion to explain to him the views of the government of the 
United States in regard to the questions of boundary and jurisdiction 
between the several States of Central America. This government is 
sincerely desirous that these States should settle these questions in an 
amicable manner among themselves. 

Mr. Borland, the United States minister to Central America, is 
instructed to use his good offices in regard to any controversies that 
may exist among the Central American States, but at the same time 
he is cautioned against any interference in these matters which may 
be objectionable to any one of them. 

The undersigned has the honor, &c, 

W. L. MAECY. 

Senor Don Felipe Molina, &c, dc, &c. 



Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Marcy. 

[Translation.] 

Washington", December 5, 1853. 

On the 24th of February, 1851, the undersigned, envoy extraordi- 
nary and minister plenipotentiary of the republic of Nicaragua, had 
the honor of addressing a communication to the Hon. Mr. Webster, 
then Secretary of State, the contents and solution of which were, as 



224 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

they are at the present time, of the greatest and utmost interest to the 
republic of Nicaragua. 

The documents accompanying the communication aforesaid set 
forth the erroneous interpretation that, in the opinion of Nicaragua, 
Great Britain gave to the treaty of April 19, 1850 — an interpretation 
which the British government maintained, or pretended, to be identi- 
cal with that given to the said treaty by the government of the Ameri- 
can Union. 

The undersigned asked the honorable Secretary of State to have the 
kindness to inform him if such were, in fact, the deductions it had 
made with regard to the clauses and the spirit of said treaty. Cir- 
cumstances, perhaps, prevented a reply from being given. 

The undersigned is fully convinced that the Hon. W. L.^ Marcy 
appreciates, as well as the government of Nicaragua, the vital interest 
of the matter in question ; and he hopes, therefore, that he will have 
the goodness to take the same into proper consideration. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to have the 
pleasure of renewing to the honorable Secretary of State the assurance 
of his highest and most distinguished consideration. 

J. DE MAKCOLETA. 

Hon. W. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Marcy. 

[Translation.] 

Legation of Nicaragua, 
Washington, December 6, 1853. 

On the 2d of November, 1852, a communication was sent to the 
Department of State, setting forth and explaining the means by which 
the government of Nicaragua understood and wished that the restora- 
tion of the port of San Juan del Norte, and of the Mosquito territory, 
could be duly and fully carried out ; modifying, in the terms stated 
in that communication, the bases signed in Washington on the 30th 
of April of the same year, by the Hon. Daniel Webster, Secretary of 
State, and Mr. J. F. Crampton, her Britannic Majesty's minister ; bases 
which the senate and chamber of deputies of Nicaragua did not deem 
it proper to sanction nor to admit, in consequence of their being in 
direct opposition to the rights and interests of Nicaragua. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of Nicaragua, who had the honor of addressing the aforesaid commu- 
nication to Hon. Daniel Webster, has now likewise the honor of call- 
ing the attention of the Hon. W. L. Marcy to the glaring evils and 
injuries which the actual state of things in relation to said questions 
originates and occasions to the interests of a sister republic, who, with 
the utmost confidence, has placed and still places in the hands of the 
American people the custody and defence of these dear and vital 
interests. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 225 

One of the evils which weigh most heavily upon the State is an 
enormous foreign debt, which the government of Nicaragua wishes to 
cancel ; relying for that purpose upon one of the most fruitful sources 
of revenue which, before the British invasion, were wont to feed the 
public exchequer with the annual product of the port of San Juan. 

It must not be understood by this, that the government contem- 
plates re-establishing the maritime custom-house of that port ; quite 
the contrary. The supreme director is fully convinced of the advan- 
tages which must accrue from the freedom of that port ; but, at the 
same time, he thinks it just and proper to restrain this advantage 
within certain bounds, in order to avoid thereby those abuses, evils, 
and pernicious consequences, which, from the 1st of January, 1848, 
have been continually and palpably entailed upon the republic. . 

Consequently, the undersigned has received express orders to call, 
in a very particular manner, the attention of the American govern- 
ment to these and other serious evils, which it would be very tedious 
to detail in this place ; he has been especially charged to make known 
to the honorable Secretary of State the wishes which the government 
of Nicaragua entertains, and the absolute necessity it is under, to re- 
cover its unequivocal sovereignty over the Mosquito territory, and 
most especially over the port of San Juan del Norte, which is beyond 
the limits of the territory aforesaid. 

In order to accomplish this object, the undersigned has the honor 
of renewing here to the honorable Secretary of State the conditions 
and sacrifices to which his government would submit, in order to do 
away, on its part, with the obstacles that have hitherto prevented a 
definite settlement of these questions. 

These conditions are — 

1st. To declare San Juan del Norte a free port. 

2d. To pay, by way of indemnity, and for the extinction of any 
pretended title which the Mosquitos may set up, four per cent, on the 
net proceeds of the port for a period of five consecutive years. 

3d. To designate and to pay a life pension to the prince or Mosquito 
chief, either at Leon, Granada, or at some other point which may be 
most suitable to the government. 

4th. To acknowledge as lawful the rational grants of land which 
may have been made from January 1, 1848, by the actual authorities 
of the pretended kingdom of Mosquito, with the exception of those 
that are in opposition to the grants previously made by the Spanish 
government, by the federal government of Central America, or by the 
government of Nicaragua ; those that may be at variance with the 
rights and privileges of the canal and accessory transit companies, 
and those made at such points or localities as the State may want for 
forts, custom-houses, barracks, warehouses, arsenals, light-houses, 
and other public edifices, such as quarantine hospitals, &c. 

The government of Nicaragua understands that many grants of 
land have been made, with a mere mercantile or speculative object, 
and for insignificant considerations, the terms of which are not known, 
seeing that those improvements that are mostly called for in the port 
have not been made, and that the obstacles against the navigation of 
15 A 



226 central American affairs, 

the river, where it runs into the territory of the republic, have not 
"been removed. 

The government of Nicaragua has full knowledge of irregularities 
and abuses which cannot and should not he sanctioned. For this 
reason it will only acknowledge those grants that have been made for 
some other object besides a mere mercantile speculation, and such as 
do not exceed those bounds that are compatible with reason and 
justice. 

The government of Nicaragua is not ignorant of the difficulties and 
complications which these subjects involve, and therefore it commits 
and intrusts the solution of the same to the prudence and sense of 
justice by which the people and the government of the American 
Union are governed. Nor is it blind to the fact that, in order to 
effect a definite settlement of these matters, a eertain period of time 
is necessary, which,- unfortunately, is in direct opposition to its inter- 
ests ; therefore, the government would wish that, while the anxiously 
wished-for settlement is pending, the port of San Juan del Norte might 
be restored to its original and lawful authority and sovereignty ? 
pledging itself to carry into effect at once that portion of the grants 
mentioned above, accordingly as it may be deemed necessary and 
proper. 

And in order to show by what feelings the government is actuated 
with regard to a brother State, that of Costa Rica, with which there 
happily exists at present the best relations^ the supreme director 
promises that, while the pending questions concerning boundaries be- 
tween the two States continue unsettled, Costa Rica shall enjoy perfect 
liberty of egress and ingress by the port and river of San Juan as far 
as that of Serapiqui which leads to its territory, 

A commission of two individuals was formerly appointed in virtue 
of a gubernatorial decree-; said commission is especially instructed to 
propose and to effect a settlement upon the most liberal bases, which 
will not fail to produce the desired result. 

With regard to the canal and transit companies, the undersigned 
begs to refer to his communication of November 2, 1852, inasmuch as 
circumstances in relation to these companies have not undergone the 
least variation, and because, at present, certain modifications are more- 
over required, by mutual agreement, in the original contracts. 

In conclusion, the undersigned begs, with the utmost earnestness, 
that the honorable W. L, Marcy will be pleased to take into consider- 
ation the contents of this despatch. He calls, very particularly, his 
attention to that point concerning which the government of Nicaragua 
has her most flattering hopes at stake, in consequence of her interests, 
not only material but even moral, being bound up in it. This point, 
of such transcendental interest, is the immediate restoration of the 
port of San Juan, while the questions are being settled, and the nego- 
tiations that are now pending with the government of her Britannic 
Majesty are being brought to a close. 

Nicaragua pledges herself to give all the securities and guaranties 
which may be deemed necessary, and which are in accordance with the 
dignity of the government and of the nation. In view of these guar- 
anties, the undersigned does not believe that any serious obstacle can 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 227 

he opposed to the accomplishment of her just and natural desires, 
from the immediate realization of which depend, in a great measure, 
the welfare, the peace, the security, and the good order of the republic. 

The undersigned cannot do otherwise than to insist upon this main 
point, and to renew his request for the prompt and immediate restora- 
tion of the port of San Juan del Norte, confiding, as he does, in the 
justice, equity, as well as in the sentiments of close and cordial friend- 
ship which govern and unite the American government and people to 
and in favor of their sister republic of Nicaragua. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to renew to the 
honorable W, L. Marcy his sentiments of his high consideration. 

J. DE MARCOLETA. 

Hon. W, L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State, 



Mr, Marcy to Mr, Molina. 

Department of State, 

Washington, December 17 3 1853. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the 
honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note of Mr. Molina, envoy 
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Costa Rica, of the 13th 
instant* 

In reply, the undersigned has the honor to state, for the informa- 
tion of Mr. Molina, that, should the Postmaster General deem it expe- 
dient to accept the proposition of the Nicaragua company for carrying 
the United States mail from the Atlantic coast to California, he is 
unable to discover any grounds for such an objection as the minister 
of Costa Rica has presented in that note. In employing that com- 
pany for such a purpose, the United States make no decision or inti- 
mate any opinion as to the rights of either Nicaragua or Costa Rica 
to control the navigation of the river San Juan or the Nicaragua lake, 
nor do they undertake to inquire into the origin of that company's 
right of transit, now used by it, across the isthmus. All they know, 
or care to know, is, that the Nicaragua company have established such 
a transit, and constantly use it to carry passengers and merchandise 
over the isthmus to the Pacific coast. An agreement with it to carry 
the United States mail implies no expression of opinion as to which 
of the two States- — Nicaragua or Costa Rica — has the right to grant, 
or has granted, the privilege of transit to that company. It is an 
entire mistake on the part of the minister of Costa Rica to assume 
that, by employing the transit company to carry the mail, the United 
States would express, or intend to express, any opinion either in favor 
of, or adverse to, the claim of Costa Rica to control the navigation of 
the river San Juan or the lake of Nicaragua. If the transit company 
are infringing the rights of that State, it will have the same authority 
to obstruct or withhold from the use of that company that navigation, 
as well after as before a contract shall be made with it to carry the 



228 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

United States mail. Such a contract is not, nor is it intended to be, 
any interference with, the rights of Costa Eica, whatever those rights 
may be. 

Taking this view of the subject — which is the correct one — Mr. Mo- 
lina will see that the acceptance by the Postmaster General of the 
United States of the proposition of the company, should it be ac- 
cepted, to carry the United States mail across the isthmus, affords not 
the slightest ground of complaint by Costa Eica that this government 
is in any way interposing in the dispute which exists between that 
State and Nicaragua as to the navigation of the river San Juan and 
Nicaragua lake. 

In relation to the proposition referred to by Mr. Molina, of submit- 
ting the dispute to the arbitration of the United States, the under- 
signed will only say that the parties have not concurred in any such 
submission. If they should do so, the undersigned believes, as he 
has heretofore intimated to Mr. Molina, that the President would 
consent to act as umpire in that matter. 



The undersigned, &c. 



Senor Don Felipe Molina, &c, &c, &c. 



W. L. MAECT. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Borland. 

[Extract.] 

[No. 8.] Department of State, 

Washington, December 30, 1S5S. 

Sir: Your several despatches (to No. 11 inclusive) have been re- 
ceived at this department. 

In relation to the Clayton and Bulwer treaty, about which so much 
is said in your despatches, I have only to remark that this government 
considers it a subsisting contract, and feels bound to observe its stipu- 
lations so far as by fair construction they impose obligations upon it. 
If Great Britain has failed, or shall fail, on her part to fulfil the 
obligations she has therein assumed, or if she attempts to evade them 
by a misconstruction of that instrument, the discussions that may 
arise on these subjects must necessarily take place between the par- 
ties to it. The views taken of that treaty by the United States, and 
your course in relation to it, pointed out in your first instructions, 
will be observed until you receive notice of their modification. In 
these instructions you were furnished with the views of one of the 
contracting parties, (Great Britain ;) but at the same time you were 
informed that the United States did not concur in them. In the ne- 
gotiations at London, in regard to the affairs of Central America, the 
meaning of that instrument will come directly under discussion. So 
far as respects your mission, you will regard it as meaning what the 
American negotiator intended when he entered into it, and what the 
Senate must have understood it to mean when it was ratified, viz : 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 229 

that by it Great Britain carne under engagements to the United 
States to recede from her asserted protectorate of the Mosquito Indi- 
ans, and to cease to exercise dominion or control in any part of Cen- 
tral America. If she had any colonial possessions therein at the 
date of the treaty, she was bound to abandon them, and equally 
bound to abstain from colonial acquisitions in that region. In your 
official intercourse with the States of Central America, you will pre- 
sent this construction of the treaty as the one given to it by your gov- 
ernment. It is believed that Great Britain has a qualified right 
over a tract of country called the Belize, from which she is not ousted 
hj this treaty, because no part of that tract, when restricted to its 
proper limits, is within the boundaries of Central America. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MARCY. 
Solon Borland, Esq., <&c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Marcoleta to Mr. Marcy. 

[Translation.] 

Washington, January 24, 1854. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the republic of Nicaragua, has the honor of enclosing to the honor- 
able W. L. Marcy, Secretary of State of the United States, a copy of 
the propositions he has just made in the name of his government to 
that of her Britannic Majesty, for the definite and final settlement of 
the matters relating to the port of San Juan del Norte, the territory 
and coast of Mosquitos. 

The undersigned, being convinced of the lively interest which the 
government of the Union feels to see these questions (in which, thanks 
to its sympathy for Nicaragua, it has taken so active and favorable a 
part) at once terminated, has no doubt but that this project will elicit 
the fullest approbation of the honorable W. L. Marcy ; seeing that 
while it meets all exigencies and protects the susceptibility of the 
parties interested, it likewise does away with every pretext for further 
delays, and removes all causes of future discord. 

On the other side, the government of Nicaragua, the party princi- 
pally interested in this matter, could not continue any longer in a 
state of endless expectancy, which, without any indication of the 
probability of a happy issue, seriously compromises her dearest and 
most vital interests. In contributing its proportion of sacrifices, it 
contributes to the re-establishment of good harmony between all 
parties, and secures at the same time its political and commercial re- ' 
lations with the great powers. 

As the intricate questions and discussions of which Europe is now 
the theatre, and the eventuality of more serious complications on the 
old continent might perhaps compromise the desired result, the under- 



230 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

signed has, at the same time, proposed to his lordship the Earl of 
Clarendon that he would be pleased to authorize, if he deems it proper, 
her Britannic Majesty's minister plenipotentiary in Washington to 
proceed, conjointly with the undersigned, to negotiate and adjust a 
treaty upon the bases herewith enclosed — bases which were agreed 
upon at Managua in September, 1853, between his excellency the 
general supreme director of Nicaragua and the honorable Solon 
Borland, minister plenipotentiary of the United States in Central 
America. 

The undersigned, not doubting the approbation and co-operation of 
the Hon. W. L. Marcy, Secretary of State of the American Union, 
in this matter, avails himself of this new opportunity to renew the 
assurance of his highest consideration. 

J. DE MARCOLETA. 

The Hon. W. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State of the American Union. 



[Translation.] 

Project of settlement and object of the articles of a treaty between Great 
Britain and the republic of Nicaragua relative to the port of San 
Juan del Norte, territory and coast of Mosquitos, proposed to his lord- 
ship the Earl of Clarendon by the minister plenipotentiary of Nica- 
ragua in the United States and in Great Britain. 

1st. The Mosquito Indians, and the other tribes who inhabit the 
territory of that name, shall remain forever incorporated with, and 
perpetually united to, the republic of Nicaragua. 

2d. The territory and coast of Mosquitos shall form for the future 
a department of the republic. 

3d. The port of San Juan del Norte shall be replaced under the 
authority and sovereignty of Nicaragua. 

4th. The same shall be declared a free port. 

By way of compensation, Nicaragua engages — 

1st. To exercise a special protection over the Indians ; to promote 
their moral and material instruction, and not to molest or trouble 
them on account of any act anterior to the ratification of the treaty. 

2d. To pay to the Indians four per cent, on the net produce of the 
duties of import for the port of San Juan del Norte during five years. 

3d. To award to the Mosquito chief an annual pension for life, in 
proportion to the salaries received by the functionaries of the republic. 

4th. To recognise as legitimate the grants of land which have been 
followed by occupation made since the 1st of January, 1848: provided 
that said grants are not in opposition to those made by the Spanish 
government, by the confederacy of Central America, and by the gov- 
ernment of Nicaragua, nor to the rights which the canal company 
has enjoyed until now ; to those that have been made in localities 
which the government of Nicaragua might want for warehouses, cus- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AEFAIRS. 231 

tom-houses, barracks, arsenals, fortifications, light-houses, and other 
public edifices. 

5th. Those grants will not be recognised which have been made be- 
fore or after the 1st of January, 1848, for speculative and mercantile 
purposes, and the excessive extension of which leads to presume the 
existence of such an object. 

J. D. MARCOLETA, 

Washington, January 21, 1854. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Marcoleia. 

Department of State, 
Washington, February 21, 1854. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has not 
been able to comply with the request contained in the note of the en- 
voy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Nicaragua, of the 
24th ultimo, to co-operate with that republic in the effort he is making 
to negotiate a treaty between it and Great Britain, on the bases pro- 
posed by Mr. Marcoleta to Lord Clarendon, her Britannic Majesty's 
principal secretary of state for foreign affairs. Mr. Marcoleta must 
be fully aware that the United States deny that Great Britain has 
any sovereign rights over any part of Central America. To treat with 
her in the way proposed, or to co-operate in making such a treaty, 
would be a distinct acknowledgment that she has such rights. Such 
a treaty would also interfere directly with the claims set up by another 
of the central republics, Costa Rica ; and very little would be accom- 
plished towards settling the questions which are now disturbing Nic- 
aragua in regard to boundary and jurisdiction, unless Costa Rica were 
a party to it. The principal matters embraced in the projet of the 
treaty submitted to the undersigned by Mr. Marcoleta, relate to the 
conflicting claims and pretensions between that republic and Nicar- 
agua; and they could not, certainly, be disposed of by an arrange- 
ment with Great Britain, which has no sovereign rights whatever in 
Central America. It is true, the latter power claims a right, as as- 
sumed protector of the Mosquito Indians, to see that they are fairly 
treated. To this end she would feel authorized to look to any settle- 
ment of the pending questions between the two republics which might 
affect the condition and well-being of this tribe of Indians ; but, be- 
yond that object, her interference could not be invoked without an im- 
plication that she had rights which the United States, as well as Costa 
Rica and Nicaragua, deny to her. 

The negotiation proposed by Mr. Marcoleta, in which he solicits the 
co-operation of the United States, should be with Costa Rica, and not 
with Great Britain ; and with it Great Britain should not be invited 
to interpose any further than to yield her acquiescence in any pro- 
vision that may be made for the Mosquitos. It is very questionable 
whether the United States should or would countenance her interpo- 
sition even to this extent, for they do not acknowledge that Great 
Britain has now, or ever had, a rightful protectorate over these Indians. 



232 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Entertaining these views, the United States cannot, as must be very 
evident to Mr. Marcoleta, co-operate with Nicaragua in the proposed 
negotiation with Great Britain. At the same time, it is proper to say 
that the United States are anxious that all the questions which are dis- 
turbing the friendly relations between the Central American States 
should be amicably adjusted, and they are ready to lend their good 
offices to bring about such a desirable result. 

The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to renew to Mr. 
Marcoleta the assurances of his distinguished consideration. 

W. L. MAECY. 

Senor Don Jose de Marcoleta, <#c, dcc> do. 



CORRESPONDENCE 



RESPECTING 



THE ARBITRATION OF DIFFERENCES 

BETWEEN 

THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN, 

OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF 

THE CONVENTION OF WASHINGTON OF JULY 4, 1850, 

COMMUNICATED 

TO THE SENATE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE FIRST SESSION 
OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. 



CORRESPONDENCE 



THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN, 



SUBMITTING TO ARBITRATION THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TREATY 
OF WASHINGTON. 



To the Senate of the United States : 

I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying 
papers, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of yesterday. 

FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
Washington, February 29, 1856. 



To the President of the United States : 

The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the resolution of the 
Senate of yesterday, requesting the President, if in his opinion it he 
not incompatible with the public interest, to inform that body ' c whe- 
ther any offer has been made by the government of Great Britain to the 
government of the United States to refer to the arbitrament of some 
friendly power, or otherwise, the questions in difference between the 
two governments, upon the construction of the convention of 4th July, 
[19th April,] 1850, with any correspondence touching or concerning 
such proposed arbitration," has the honor to lay before the President 
the papers mentioned in the subjoined list, which contain all the in- 
formation in this department called for by the resolution. 

All which is respectfully submitted. 

W. L. MARCY. 

Department of State, 

Washington, February 29, 1856. 



236 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 



List of papers accompanying the report of tlie Secretary of State to the 
President, of the 29th of February, 1856. 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, (extract,) November 21, 1854. 
The same to the same, (extracts,) November 2, 1855. 
The same to the same, (extract,) November 9, 1855. 
The same to the same, (extracts,) February 5, 1856. 
The same to the same, (extract,) February 8, 1856. 
Mr. Cramp ton to Mr. Marcy, February 27, 1856. 
Lord Clarendon to Mr. Crampton, November 10, 1855. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 
[Extract.] 

[No. 49.] Legation of the United States, 

London, November 21, 1854. 

Wrp • yfc >£. >$. yfi. >£. y£ yfc ?£, 

In the course of the conversation, he intimated that it might be de- 
sirable to have the opinion of a third power on the true construction 
of the convention. To this I playfully observed that it would now be 
difficult to find an impartial umpire, as they had gone to war with 
our arbitrator, the Emperor of Eussia. This was, however, but a 
mere intimation on his part. 1 then urged upon him, 'as strongly as 
I could, the reasons which I thought ought to induce the British 
government to relinquish the Bay islands to Honduras. He replied, 
that these islands were not of the least value to G-reat Britain, and 
the only question with them was whether the national honor did not 
forbid this course. 



Tours, very respectfully, 

Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



JAMES BUCHANAN. 



Mr. Bucho.nan to Mr. Marcy. 
[Extracts.] 

[No. 99.] Legation of the United States, 

London, November 2, 1855. 

According to the appointment mentioned in my last despatch, I 
met Lord Clarendon yesterday afternoon at the Foreign Office. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 237 

In the course of the conversation I observed to him, that the most 
serious difficulty between the governments might arise out of the 
Central American questions. He said that when two governments 
disagreed about the construction of a treaty, the best and most natu- 
ral mode was to refer the question to a third power. At an early 
period of the negotiation he had made this suggestion ; but I had 
jocularly replied that the Emperor of Eussia was the only power suffi- 
ciently independent to act as an impartial umpire in the case, and 
they had gone to war with him. * * * * * 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN, 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] 

[No. 101.] Legation of the United States, 

London, November 9, 1855, 

Sir : I had an interview with Lord Clarendon on yesterday by ap- 
pointment. ******* 

He then said, About these Central American questions, the best 
mode of settling them is by arbitration. I replied there was nothing 
to arbitrate. He said the true construction of the treaty was a proper 
subject for arbitration. I told him I did not consider it a question 
for construction at all ; the language was plain and explicit, and I 
thought this would be the almost unanimous opinion of the American 
people ; but, in writing to you, I should mention what he had now 
said, as I had done what he had said at our former interview. * * 
Tours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of Slate. 



Mr, Buchanan to Mr. Marcy ', 

[Extracts.] ' 

[No. 119.] Legation of the United States, 

London, February 5, 1856. 

Sir ; ****** * * 

Ere this can reach Washington, you will have read the speeches of 
Lord Derby and Lord Clarendon in the House of Lords on Thursday 
evening last, which will speak for themselves. 



238 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

Lord Clarendon says, in relation to the Central American questions: 
" In such a case, correspondence is useless, and I lost no time in 
offering to refer the whole question to the arbitration of any third 
power, both sides agreeing to be bound by the decision. That offer 
has not yet been accepted ; it has been renewed, and I hope that, upon 
further consideration, the government of the United States will agree 

to it." 

******** 

It is, therefore, proper for me to state, as a matter of fact, that I 
have reported to you, in the most faithful manner, every conversation 
which has passed between Lord Clarendon and myself on the subject 
of a reference of these questions to a friendly power. As I have never 
learned that the British government has made any such offer to the 
government of the United States through Mr. Crampton, I infer 
that his lordship must have referred to the general conversations 
between him and myself, which would by no means justify the broad 
terms of his statement. Thus much merely to vindicate the truth of 
history. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marct, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] 

[No. 120.] Legation of the United States., 

London, February 8, 1856* 

Sir : On Wednesday last, the 6th instant, I had an interview with 
Lord Clarendon at the Foreign Office. I told him I desired to ascer- 
tain whether the statement he had made in the House of Lords on 
the evening of Thursday, the 31st ultimo, that the British govern- 
ment had made to the American government an offer, which has 
been recently renewed, to arbitrate the Central American questions, 
was founded on what had passed between him and myself in con- 
versation ; or whether he had instructed Mr. Crampton to make to 
you, in writing, a formal proposal for arbitration. He replied, that 
his statement was founded on our different conversations ; and that, 
in these, he had several times proposed to me a reference of these 
questions to arbitration ; and he expressed the hope that I had com- 
municated his propositions to my government. I informed him that 
I had faithfully reported to you all the conversations we had held 
in reference to an arbitration ; but I had not believed that what 
he had said on these occasions amounted to such an offer as 
could be recognised by our government as a foundation for 
specific action on so grave a matter. I added, that I did not doubt 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 239 

you were of the same opinion, as I had never received a line from 
you on the subject. He observed} that before holding these con- 
versations with me, he had consulted the cabinet, and spoke their 
sentiments as well as his own. I remarked that this fact had 
now, for the first time, been communicated to me. If he had 
informed me of it at the time, this would have given his conver- 
sation a more serious character, and caused it to make a deeper 
impression on my mind. He said he had thought that, as a matter 
of course, I would consider what he had said to me had been said 
after consultation with the cabinet. In reply, I observed that I had 
thought, when one nation desired to propose to another the submis- 
sion of an international dispute to arbitration, this would be done by 
writing, and in due form. Such had been their own course when they 
proposed to arbitrate the Oregon question. Besides, the President 
might, if he thought proper, consult the Senate on the question ; and 
what would be thought by that body, if such a proposition were pre- 
sented to them in the loose form of various conversations between him 
and myself, which, after all, I might, through mistake or inad- 
vertence, not have reported correctly ? He said that what he had 
done he considered the preliminary step ; and if our government had 
indicated any satisfaction with it, they would have been prepared to 
proceed further ; but from what I had said to him, he did not think 
they had received much encouragement. I told him that when- 
ever I had spoken to him upon the subject, I had always been careful 
to assure him that I was expressing my own individual sentiments, 
without any instructions or information from my government ; and 
that these remained unchanged. I also observed that his last letter 
to me, finally denying our construction of the treaty, and forming an 
issue between the two governments, might appropriately have con- 
tained a proposition for arbitration ; and in this manner the ques- 
tion might have been brought in regular form before our government. 
He then, for the first time, informed me that he had addressed a des- 
patch to Mr. Crampton on the subject, with instructions to him to 
read it to you. He then sent for it and read it to me. I believe it 
is dated in November ; but a copy being doubtless in your posses- 
sion, it will speak for itself; and he informed me that all you had 
said about it to Mr. Crampton was, that the matter was in Mr. Bu- 
chanan's hands. 

He proceeded to express a decided opinion in favor of arbitration, 
and said that When two friendly governments disagreed upon the 
construction of a treaty, the natural and appropriate course was to 
refer the question to a third friendly power. He had ever firmly 
believed their construction of the treaty to be correct. He then re- 
quested me to communicate to you their proposal for an arbitration, 
and how anxious they were that the question might be settled in this 
manner. I told him I should cheerfully comply with his request, but 
repeated that my own individual opinions remained unchanged. I con- 
sidered the language of the treaty too clear for serious doubt ; and such 
I believed was the opinion of public men of all parties in the United 
States. This had been evinced by the recent debate in the Senate on 
the President's message. Besides, the difficulty of selecting a suitable 



240 CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 

sovereign as an arbitrator seemed insurmountable. But I said this 
was a question for my government, and not for myself. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Crampton to Mr. Marcy. 

[Received at the Department of State on the 27th of February, at 11 o'clock p. m.] 

Washington, February 27, 1856. 

My. dear Sir : Observing that some misapprehension seems to 
exist as to the offer made by Lord Clarendon to Mr. Buchanan, to 
submit the points regarding the interpretation of the Clayton-Bulwer 
treaty, upon which the two governments disagree, to arbitration, I 
think it well to send you the enclosed despatch, which I received from 
Lord Clarendon on the subject in December last. I regret not having 
made you this communication before ; but the truth is, that the last 
paragraph of the despatch escaped my attention until I referred to it 
lately ; and as I was aware that the negotiation of the question re- 
garding Central America was in Mr. Buchanan's and Lord Claren- 
don's hands, I considered the despatch as meant merely for my own 
information as to what was going forward upon a subject in regard to 
which I inferred you were already informed. 

Believe me yours, very faithfully, 

JOHN F. CRAMPTON. 

P. S.-~- 1 send the original despatch, which I will beg of you to re- 
turn to me, but I have no objection to vour taking a copy of it. 

J. F. C. 



Lord Clarendon to Mr. Crampton, 

[Ho. 258.] Foreign Office, November 10, 1855. 

Sir : Mr. Buchanan having, in the course of conversation a few 
days ago, adverted to the impression that would be created in the Uni- 
ted States by the non-settlement of the Central American question, I 
again assured him that England had no wish to extend her influence, 
or to obtain any territory in that part of the world ; and I reminded 
him that, as the difference between this country and the United States 
turned solely upon the interpretation of the treaty of 1850, I had of- 
fered, on the part of her Majesty^ government, to submit the case to 
the arbitration of a third power ? but that he had declined the offer. 



CENTRAL AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 241 

Her Majesty's government, I said, would still abide by that offer, and 
thought it would be the fairest and most amicable manner of arriving 
at a settlement of the question. 

Mr. Buchanan said he would make it known to his government, 
and you are instructed to communicate this despatch to Mr. Marcy. 

I am, with great truth and regard, sir, your most obedient, humble 
servant, 

CLARENDON, 

J. F. Crampton, Esq., dtc.y <&c, } dtc. 



16 



CORRESPONDENCE 



IN RELATION TO 



ENLISTMENT OF TROOPS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, 

BY 

THE AGENTS OF GBEAT BKITAXN, 

COMMUNICATED 

TO THE SENATE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE FIRST 
SESSION OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. 



CORRESPONDENCE AMD FAPEKii 



RELATIVE TO THE 



ENLISTMENT OF TROOPS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES 



THE AGENTS OF GREAT BRITAIN.- 



1o the Senate of the United States : 

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 25th instant, 1 
transmit reports from the Secretary of State and the Attorney Gene^ 
ral, to whom the resolution was referred. * 

FKANKLIN PIERCE, 

Washing-ton, February 27, 1856. 



To the President of the United States i 

The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the resolution of the' 
Senate of the 25th instant, requesting the President, if not incompati- 
ble with the public interest, to communicate to that body " the corre- 
spondence which has taken place between this government and that 
of Great Britain, in regard to the enlistment of soldiers within the 
United States by the agents and officers of the latter, for the British 
army, accompanied by such evidence and documents as the President 
may deem proper to show the connexion of these agents and officers 
with the alleged violation of our laws and sovereign rights/' has the 
honor to lay before the President the papers mentioned in the sub- 3 
joined list. 

All of which is respectfully submitted t 

W. L. MARCY, 

Department of State, 

Washington j February 2 1 ?, 1856* 



246 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



List of papers accompanying the report of the Secretary of State to 
the President, of February 27, 1856. 

Mr. Crampton to Mr, Marcy, April 21, 1854. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Crampton, April 28, 1854. 

Lord Clarendon to Mr. Crampton, April 12, 1855. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan, June 9, 1855. 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr, Marcy, (extract,) July 13, 1855, with an ac- 
companiment. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan, July 15, 1855. 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, (extract,) July 20, 1855, with an ac- 
companiment. 

The same to the same, (extract,) August 3, 1855. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Crampton, September 5, 1855. 

Mr. Crampton to Mr. Marcy, September 7, 1855. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan, September 8, 1855. 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, (extract,) September 28, 1855, with 
accompaniments. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan, October 1, 1855. 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, (extract,) October 3, 1855. 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, (extract,) October 30, 1855. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr k Buchanan, October 13, 1855. 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, November 2, 1855. 

Same to the same, (extracts,) November 9, 1855. 

Lord Clarendon to Mr. Crampton, November 16, 1855. 

Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan, December 28, 1855, with a copy of 
the report of the case of the United States against Henry Hertz, and 
of the proceedings relative to the barque Maury. 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, (extract,) February 1, 1856. 



Mr. Crampton to Mr. Marcy, 

Washington, April 21, 1854. 

The undersigned, her Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and 
minister plenipotentiary to the United States of America, has received 
orders from his government to make to the Secretary of State of the 
United States the following communication : 

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain 
and Ireland and his Majesty the Emperor of the French, being com- 
pelled to take up arms for the purpose of repelling the aggression of 
his Majesty the Emperor of Russia upon the Ottoman Empire, and 
being desirous to lessen as much as possible the disastrous consequences 
to commerce resulting from a state of warfare, their Majesties have re- 
solved, for the present, not to authorize the issue of letters of marque. 

In making this resolution known, they think it right to announce, 
at the same time, the principles upon which they will be guided during 
the course of this war with regard to the navigation and commerce of 
aeutrals. 



IN THE UNITED STATES* 247 

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
Ireland has accordingly published the accompanying declaration, 
■which is identical with that published by his Majesty the Emperor of 
the French. 

In thus restricting, within the narrowest limits, the exercise of their 
rights as belligerents, the allied governments confidently trust that 
the governments of countries which may remain neutral during this 
war, will sincerely exert every effort to enforce upon their subjects or 
citizens the necessity of observing the strictest neutrality. 

Her Britannic Majesty's government entertains the confident hope 
that the United States government will receive with satisfaction the 
announcement of the resolutions thus taken in common by the two 
allied governments, and that it will, in the spirit of just reciprocity, 
give orders that no privateer under Russian colors shall be equipped 
or victualled, or admitted with its prizes, in the ports of the United 
States ; and also that the citizens of the United States shall rigorously 
abstain from taking part in armaments of this nature, or in any other 
measure opposed to the duties of a strict neutrality. 

The undersigned has the honor to avail himself of this occasion to 
renew to the Secretary of State of the United States the, assurance of 
his highest consideration. 

JOHN F. CRAMPTQN. 

Hon. W. L. Makcy, 

Secretary of State, <&c, &c< 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Crampton. 

Department of State, 

Washington, April 28, 1854. 

The undersigned^ Secretary of State of the United States, has had 
the honor to receive the note of Mr. Crampton, her Britannic Majes- 5 
ty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, of the 21st 
instant, accompanied by the declaration of her Majesty the Queen of 
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in regard to the 
rule which will for the present be observed towards those powers with 
which she is at peace, in the existing war with Russia. 

The undersigned has submitted those communications to the Presi- 
dent, and received his direction to express to her Majesty's govern- 
ment his satisfaction that the principle, that free ships make free 
goods, which the United States have so long and so strenuously con- 
tended for as a neutral right, and in which some of the leading pow- 
ers of Europe have concurred, is to have a qualified sanction by the 
practical observance of it in the present war, by both Great Britain 
and France-— two of the most powerful nations of Europe. 

Notwithstanding the sincere gratification which her Majesty's de- 
claration has given to the President, it would have been enhanced if 
the rule alluded to had been announced as one which would be ob- 
served not only in the present, but in every future war in which Great 



248 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Britain shall be a party. The unconditional sanction of this rule by 
the British and French governments, together with the practical ob- 
servance of it in the present war, would cause it to be henceforth 
recognised throughout the civilized world as a general principle of in- 
ternational law* This government, from its very commencement, has 
labored for its recognition as a neutral right. It has incorporated it 
in many of its treaties with foreign powers. France, Russia, Prussia, 
and other nations, have, in various ways, fully concurred with the 
United States in regarding it as a sound and salutary principle, in all 
respects proper to be incorporated into the law of nations. 

The same consideration which has induced her Britannic Majesty, 
in concurrence with the Emperor of the French, to present it as a 
concession in the present war, the desire "to preserve the commerce 
of neutrals from all unnecessary obstruction," will, it is presumed, 
have equal weight with the belligerents in any future war, and satisfy 
them that the claims of the principal maritime powers, while neutral, 
to have it recognised as a rule of international law, are well founded, 
and should be no longer contested. 

To settle the principle that free ships make free goods, except arti- 
cles contraband of war, and to prevent it from being called again in 
question, from any quarter or under any circumstances, the United 
States are desirous to unite with other powers in a declaration, that it 
shall be observed by each, hereafter, as a rule of international law. 

The exemption of the property of neutrals, not contraband, from 
seizure and confiscation when laden on board an enemy's vessel, is a 
right now generally recognised by the law of nations. The President 
is pleased to perceive, from the declaration of her Britannic Majesty, 
that the course to be pursued by her cruisers will not bring it into 
question in the present war. . 

The undersigned is directed by the President to state to her Majes- 
ty's minister to this government, that the United States, while claim- 
ing the full enjoyment of their rights as a neutral power, will observe 
the strictest neutrality towards each and all the belligerents. The 
laws of this country impose severe restrictions, not only upon its own 
citizens, but upon all persons who may be residents within any of the 
territories of the United States, against equipping privateers, receiv- 
ing commissions, or enlisting men therein, for the purpose of taking 
a part in any foreign war. It is not apprehended that there will be 
any attempt to violate the laws ; but should the just expectation of 
the President be disappointed, he will not fail in his duty to use all the 
power with which he is invested to enforce obedience to them. Con- 
siderations of interest, and the obligations of duty, alike give as- 
surance that the citizens of the United States will in no way compromit 
the neutrality of their country, by participating in the contest in which 
the principal powers of Europe are now unhappily engaged. 

The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to renew to Mr. 
Grampton the assurance of his distinguished consideration. 

W. L. MARCY. 
John F. Grampton, Esq., &c, &c* 

[Same, mutatis mutandis $ to the Count de Sartiges.] 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 249 

Lord Clarendon to Mr. Crampton. 

[Delivered to Mr. Marcy in the course of the month of May, 1855.] 

Foreign Office, April 12, 1855. 

Sir : I entirely approve of your proceedings, as reported in your de- 
spatch No. 57, of the 12th ultimo, ivith respect to the proposed enlist- 
ment in ilie Queen's service of foreigners and British subjects in the 
United States. 

The instructions which I addressed to you upon Ibis subject, and 
those which were sent to the governor of Nova Scotia, were founded 
upon the reports from various quarters that reached her Majesty's gov- 
ernment of the desire felt by many British subjects as well as Ger- 
mans in the United States to enter the Queen's service for the purpose 
of taking part in the war in the East ; but the law of the United 
States with respect to enlistment, however conducted, is not only very 
just but very stringent, according to the report which is enclosed in 
your despatch, and her Majesty's government would on no account 
run any risk of infringing this law of the United States. 

CLARENDON. 

J, F. Crampton, Esq., &c, dec, &c 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[No. 91.] Department of State, 

Washington, June 9, 1855. 

Sir : Some time since it became known that a plan was on foot to 
enlist soldiers within the limits of the United States to serve in the 
British army, and that rendezvous for that purpose had been actually 
opened in some of our principal cities. Besides being a disregard of 
our sovereign rights as an independent nation, the procedure was a 
clear and manifest infringement of our laws, enacted for the express 
purpose of maintaining our neutral relations with other powers. It 
was not reasonable to suspect that this scheme was in any way coun- 
tenanced by the British government, or any of its subordinate au- 
thorities resident within the United States or in the British North 
American provinces ; but a further examination into the matter has 
disclosed the fact that it has had not .only the countenance, but the 
active support of some of these authorities, and, to some extent, the 
sanction of the British government. 

When intimations were thrown out that the British consuls in this 
country were aiding and encouraging this scheme of enlistment within 
our limits, Mr. Crampton, her Britannic Majesty's minister to this 
government, showed me the copy of a letter, which he had addressed 
to one of them, disapproving of the proceeding, and discountenancing 
it as a violation of our laws. After this act on the part of the British 
minister, it was confidently believed that this scheme, however it may 
have originated., and with whatever countenance it might have been 



250 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

at first looked on by the British functionaries, would at once have been 
abandoned. This reasonable expectation has not been realized ; for 
efforts to raise recruits within the United States for the British army 
have not been intermitted, but are still prosecuted with energy. To 
arrest a course of proceedings which so seriously compromitted our 
neutrality, prosecutions, by the order of the government, were insti- 
tuted against the offenders. This led to developments which estab- 
lished the fact that the governor of Nova Scotia, apparently with the 
knowledge and approval of her Majesty's government, had a direct 
agency in this illegal proceeding. 

I herewith send you a copy of an order or notification which has 
been published in our newspapers, and believed to be genuine, pur- 
porting to have been issued by that functionary. It clearly appears 
from this document that the recruits were to be drawn from the United 
States ; that the engagements with them were to be made within our 
limits, in open violation of the second section of the act of Con- 
gress of the 20th of April, 1818 ; and that British officials were the 
agents furnished with the means for carrying the illegal measure into 
effect. These agents have been engaged within our jurisdiction, de- 
voting themselves to the execution of this plan. 

Notwithstanding the legal measures taken by the officers of the 
United States to suppress the procedure, the work is still going on, 
"We have accounts of persons constantly leaving the United States for 
the British provinces, under engagements, contracted here, to enter 
into the British military service. Such engagements are as much an 
infringement of our laws as more formal enlistments. 

I am directed by the President to instruct you to call the attention 
of her Majesty's government to this subject. He desires you to as- 
certain how far persons in official station under the British govern- 
ment acted in the first instance in this matter with its approbate on ? 
and what measures, if any, it has since taken to restrain their un- 
justifiable conduct. 

In the early stage of the present war, the British government 
turned its attention towards our neutrality laws, and particularly to 
the provisions which forbid the fitting out and manning privateers for 
foreign service. Any remissness on our part in enforcing such pro- 
visions would have been regarded by that government as a violation 
of our neutral relations. No one need be at a loss to conjecture how 
our conduct would have been viewed by the allies, or what would have 
been their course towards this country if it had not denounced and re- 
sisted any attempt on the part of their enemy to send its agents into 
our seaports to fit out privateers and engage sailors to man them ; but 
would this government be less censurabiy neglectful of the duties of 
neutrality by permitting one of the belligerent powers to recruit its 
armies within our borders, than by permitting another to resort to 
our seaports for the purpose of organizing a privateer force to take a 
part in the present war? 

Notwithstanding the ceaseless efforts which this government has 
made for several years past to restrain our citizens, and foreigners 
among us, from getting up enterprises to invade or disturb the neigh- 
boring possessions of a European power, the British press has loudly 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 251 

proclaimed, and the British public have been induced to believe, that 
we have acted in bad faith, and complacently looked on, if we have 
not countenanced, the organization of such expeditions. While Eng- 
land has been severe and acrimonious in abusing the government and 
people of the United States on the false assumption that we have been 
neglectful, in this respect, of our duties as a neutral and fr endly State, 
her officers are found among us busily engaged in carrying out a 
scheme in direct violation of our neutral duties, and of our laws pro- 
viding for the rigid enforcement of these duties. 

Under a consciousness of not deserving the reproach so gratuitously 
cast upon us by the British press and public, it would hardly comport 
with a proper sense of self-respect to refer in the way of complaint to 
these unfounded imputations ; but it may not be out of place to notice 
them when called on to animadvert upon the conduct of these accusers 
for entering into our territories and openly violating our laws and 
neutral rights at the same time they are severely arraigning this gov- 
ernment for not restraining and punishing others who have, as they 
allege, committed the same offence. 

The excuse offered by the British authorities for enlisting or en- 
gaging soldiers to enlist within the United States is, that her Majes- 
ty's subjects, and Germans resident therein, had expressed a desire to 
enter the British army. This fact, if it were unquestionable, would 
not justify the British authorities in converting the United States into 
a field for recruiting the British army. 

Were not the proceedings in open violation of law, a respect for our 
obligations of neutrality, and the observance of the comity due to us 
as a friendly power, would render such a course by either belligerent 
disrespectful to us. 

The value of such an excuse as is interposed by Great Britain in 
this case may be tested by its application to another in which there 
should be a change of parties. Would the fact that her Majesty's 
subjects, as well as Germans and Spaniards, and the subjects of most 
other nations resident in the United States, had a strong desire to aid 
the discontented Cubans in their efforts to throw off the domination of 
Spain, be accepted by Great Britain or the other nations of Europe as 
an excuse for the conduct of this government if it had actually con- 
nived at, or for a moment intermitted its efforts to suppress, expedi- 
tions attempted to be organized for aiding an insurrection in the 
island of Cuba ? 

Such an excuse, though sanctioned by the authority of the British 
government, would not be at all satisfactory to other powers, and 
would be disdained by the United States. This government expects 
that the conduct of the officers of Great Britain who have been en- 
gaged in the scheme to which I have alluded, will be disavowed by 
her Majesty's government, and that these offenders against our neutral 
rights and laws will be visited with its marked displeasure. 

Though the proceedings of this government to frustrate this scheme 
may have caused the manner of carrying it on to be changed, there is 
reason to believe that it is still clandestinely prosecuted by British 
officers with means furnished by their government. 

The President will be much pleased to learn that her Majesty's 



252 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

government has not authorized the proceedings herein complained of; 
and has condemned the conduct of her officials engaged therein, called 
them to account, and taken most decisive measures to put a stop to 
the illegal and disrespectful procedure. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your ohedient servant, 

W. L. MARCY, 

James Buchanan, Esq., &c, do., dc. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, 
[Extract.] 

[No. 80.] Legation of the United States, 

London, July 13, 1855, 

I herewith transmit the copy of a note addressed by me to Lord 
Clarendon, dated on the 6th instant, and prepared in conformity with 
your instructions, (No. 91,) on the subject of the enlistment and em- 
ployment of soldiers for the British army within the limits of the 
United States, which I trust may receive your approbation. It wag 
sent to the Foreign Office on the 7th, but its receipt has not yet been 
acknowledged. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State, 



Mr, Buchanan to Lord Clarendon. 

Legation of the United States, 

London, July 6, 1855, 
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the United States, has been instructed to call the attention of the 
Earl of Clarendon, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for for- 
eign affairs, to the fact that numerous attempts have been made, 
since the commencement of the existing war between Great Britain 
and Russia, to enlist soldiers for the British army within the limits 
of the United States, and that rendezvous for this purpose have been 
actually opened in some of their principal eities. When intimations- 
were thrown out that British consuls in the United States were en- 
couraging and aiding such enlistments, Mr.. Crampton, her Britannic 
Majesty's minister at Washington, exhibited to the Secretary of 8tate 
the copy of a letter which he had addressed to one of these consuls, 
disapproving of the proceeding, and discountenancing it as a violation 
of the neutrality laws of the United States. After this very proper 
sonduct on the part of Mr. Crampton, it wajs confidently believed that- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 253 

these attempts to raise military forces within the territory of a neu- 
tral nation, from whatever source they may have originated, would 
at once have been abandoned. This reasonable expectation has not 
been realized, and efforts to raise recruits within the United States 
for the British army are still prosecuted with energy, though chiefly 
in a somewhat different form. To arrest a course of proceeding 
which so seriously compromitted the neutrality of the nation in the 
existing war, prosecutions were instituted, by order of the American 
government, against the offenders. This led to developments estab- 
lishing the fact that the lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia has had 
a direct agency in attempts to violate the neutrality laws of the United 
States. This will appear from the copy of a notification issued by 
that functionary, dated at Halifax, on the 15th March last, and be- 
lieved to be genuine, a copy of which the undersigned has now the 
honor to communicate to the Earl of Clarendon. This notification 
has been published in the newspapers of the United States. In con- 
sequence, it is believed, of this document, purporting to be official, the 
practice of recruiting still proceeds with vigor, notwithstanding the 
legal measures adopted by the officers of the United States to suppress 
it. The American government are constantly receiving information 
that persons are leaving, and have left the United States, under en- 
gagements contracted within their limits, to enlist as soldiers in the 
British army, on their arrival in the British provinces. These per- 
sons are provided with ready means of transit to Nova Scotia, in con- 
sequence of the express promise of the lieutenant-governor of that 
province to " pay to Nova Scotian and other shipmasters" the cost of 
a passage for each poor man, "willing to serve her Majesty," "ship- 
ped from Philadelphia, New York, or Boston." - 

The disclosures made within the very last month, upon a judicial 
investigation at Boston, (a report of which is now before the under- 
signed,) afford good reason to believe that an extensive plan has been 
organized by British functionaries and agents, and is now in successful 
operation in different parts of the Union, to furnish recruits for the 
British army. 

All these acts have been performed in direct violation of the second 
section of the act of Congress of the 20th April, 1818, which provides, 
" That if any person shall, within the territory or jurisdiction of the 
United States, enlist or enter himself, or hire or retain another per- 
son to enlist or enter himself, or to go beyond the limits or jurisdiction 
of the United States with intent to be enlisted or entered in the ser- 
vice of any foreign prince, state, colony, district or people, as a sol- 
dier, as a marine or seaman, on board of any vessel of war, letter of 
marque, or privateer, every person so offending shall be deemed 
guilty of a high misdemeanor, and shall be fined not exceeding one 
thousand dollars, and be imprisoned not exceeding three years." &c. 

The plain and imperative duties of neutrality, under the law of 
nations, require that a neutral nation shall not suffer its territory to 
become the theatre on which one of the belligerents might raise armies 
to wage war against the other. If such a permission were granted, 
the partiality which this would manifest in favor of one belligerent 
to the prejudice of the other, could not fail to produce just complaints 



254 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

on the part of the injured belligerent, and might eventually involve 
the neutral as a party in the war. 

The government of the United States, however, did not leave the 
enforcement of its neutral obligations to rest alone on the law of na- 
tions. At an early period of its history, in June, 1*794, under the 
administration of General Washington, an act of Congress was passed 
defining and enforcing its neutral duties ; and this act has been sup- 
plied, extended, and enlarged by the act already referred to, and now 
in force, of the 20th April, 1818. Under both these acts the very 
same penalties are imposed upon all persons implicated, whether the 
actual enlistment takes place within the territory of the United States, 
or whether an engagement is entered into to go beyond the limits or 
jurisdiction of the United States, Ci with intent to be enlisted or entered 
in the service of any foreign prince," &c, &c. Without the latter 
provision, the former might be easily evaded in the manner proposed 
by the lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia. If the law permitted any 
individuals, whether official or unofficial, to engage persons in Phila- 
delphia, New York, and Boston to serve in the British army, and to 
enter into contracts to transport them to Halifax, there to complete 
the formal act of enlistment, then it is manifest that this law, to a 
very great extent, would become a dead letter. 

The undersigned is happy to know that in this respect the policy of 
the British government is identical with that' of the United States. 
The foreign enlistment act, (59 Geo. Ill, ch. 69,) like the act of Con- 
gress, inflicts the same penalties upon any individual who shall, within 
the British dominions, engage "any person or persons whatever" 
"to go, or to agree to go, or embark from any part of his Majesty's 
dominions, for the purpose, or with intent to be so enlisted," as though 
the enlistment had actually taken place within the same. 

And here it may be worthy of remark, that neither the foreign en- 
listment act, nor the act of Congress, is confined to the enlistment or 
engagement of British subjects or American citizens, respectively, but 
rightfully extends to individuals of all nations — " to any person what- 
ever." The reason is manifest. The injury to the neutral principally 
consists in the violation of its territorial sovereignty by the belligerent 
lor the purpose of raising armies ; and this is the same, no matter 
what may be the national character of the persons who may agree to 
enter the service. 

The government of the United States can look back with satisfaction 
to the manner in which it has performed its neutral duties at every 
period of its history ; and this often at the imminent risk of being in- 
volved in war. 

In the early stage of the present war, the British government very 
properly turned its attention towards the neutrality laws of the United 
States, and particularly to the provisions which forbid the fitting out 
and manning privateers for foreign service. Any remissness in en- 
forcing such provisions would have been justly regarded by that gov- 
ernment as a violation of the neutral relations of the United States. 
It is not difficult to conjecture in what light the conduct of the Ameri- 
can government would have been viewed by the allies had it not de- 
nounced and resisted any attempt on the part of their enemy to send 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 255 

its agents into the ports of the United States to fit out privateers, and 
•engage sailors to man them. But would the government of the 
United States be less eensurably neglectful of the duties of neutrality- 
were it now to suffer one of the allies to recruit armies within its 
"borders, than it would have been had it permitted the other belligerent 
to resort to American seaports for the purpose of organizing a priva- 
teer force to take a part in the present war ? 

In view of all these considerations, the President has instructed the 
undersigned to ascertain from the Earl of Clarendon how far persons 
in official station under the British government have acted, whether 
with or without its approbation, either in enlisting persons within the 
United States, or engaging them to proceed from thence to the British 
provinces for the purpose of being there enlisted ; and what measures, 
if any, have been taken to restrain their unjustifiable conduct. 

The President will be much gratified to learn that her Majesty's 
government has not authorized these proceedings, but has condemned 
the conduct of its officials engaged therein, and has visited them with 
its marked displeasure, as well as taken decisive measures to put a 
stop to conduct so contrary to the law of nations, the laws of the Uni- 
ted States, and the comity which ought ever to prevail in the inter- 
course between two friendly powers. 

The undersigned has the honor to renew to the Earl of Clarendon 
the assurance of his distinguished consideration. 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[No. 102..] Department of State, 

Washington, July 15, 1855. 

Sir: Since my despatch of the 9th ultimo, in relation to recruiting 
soldiers within the United States for the British army, information 
has been received here that the business is not only continued, but 
prosecuted with increased vigor and success, and there is no doubt 
that it is carried on by the efficient aid of the officers and agents of 
the British government. It was expected, after the attention of her 
Britannic Majesty's minister near this government was directed to 
this subject, and after he had presented Lord Clarendon's note of the 
12th of April last to this department, and given assurances that steps 
had been taken to arrest the illegal procedure, that we should have 
witnessed no further participation by British functionaries in the at- 
tempt to invade our sovereignty and defy our laws. 

Something more than the disavowal then made to this department 
was looked for from the British government, which had, as it appears 
by Lord Clarendon's note, countenanced this aggression upon our 
rights. It was reasonably expected that her Britannic Majesty's gov- 
ernment would have considered it due to the friendly relations be- 
tween the two countries, not merely to reprove its officers engaged in 
this scheme of raising recruits within our jurisdiction, but promptly 



256 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

to retrace the steps which had heen taken, and at once to arrest the 
illegal proceedings ; hut this government is not aware that any such 
course has heen taken : on the contrary, it has reason to believe that 
the machinery first put in operation is still at work, and is still man- 
aged by British functionaries. The notification of the governor of 
Nova Scotia (a copy of which accompanied my despatch of the 9th 
ultimo) is unrevoked ; agents in our principal cities are now busily 
engaged in making contracts with persons to go into the British prov- 
inces and there to complete their enrolment in the British army ; 
liberal advances still continue to be made as an inducement for enter- 
ing into such engagements, and a free passage to the British prov- 
inces is provided for them. The facts that these persons receive com- 
pensation for their engagements, are taken to the provinces- free of 
charge, and there treated as under obligation to perfect their enlist- 
ment in the British army, show that what has been done in the 
United States was set on foot by the British officers in the provinces, 
and that this scheme was not abandoned after the presentation of 
Lord Clarendon's note of the 12th of April, 1855, but is continued 
down to the present time, and is prosecuted with more vigor and 
effect than at any previous period. 

If an apology, grounded upon an alleged ignorance of our laws, 
could be offered for introducing this scheme for recruiting the British 
army by men drawn from the United States, that excuse could not be 
available after the provisions of these laws were first made known to 
those engaged in the scheme. 

Since that time many months have elapsed, and the British officers, 
with a full knowledge of the illegality of the procedure and of its 
offensive character to the government and people of the United States 
as an open contempt of their sovereign rights, persist in carrying on 
this obnoxious scheme without any open disapproval by the home 
government, or any attempt to arrest it. 

This persistence of British officers, residents here or in the provinces, 
in countenancing and aiding unrestrained by their government, and 
apparently with its approval, to carry out this device of drawing re- 
cruits for the British army from the United States, gives grave im- 
portance to the subject, and calls, as the President believes, for some 
decisive reparation. 

It is presumed that her Britannic Majesty's government will regard 
it as due to the friendly relations between the two countries which 
are alike cherished by both, to explain the course it has pursued in 
this case ; what countenance was given to it in the beginning, and 
what has been subsequently done to put a stop to it. 

Having at an early stage in the proceedings become aware of the 
illegal conduct of its officials in this matter, and the objectionable 
light in which that conduct was viewed by this government, it is not 
to be supposed that proper measures were not taken by her Britannic 
Majesty's government to suppress all further attempts to carry out 
this scheme of enlistment, and to punish those who persevered in it. 
It would afford satisfaction to be informed what measures were adopt- 
ed by her Majesty's government to arrest the mischief; but what- 
ever they were, it is evident they have proved ineffectual, for the 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 257 

ground of complaint still exists, and the practice is continued by the 
agency of persons beyond the limits of the United States as well as 
those within them, under circumstances which render a resort to 
criminal prosecutions inadequate to suppress it. 

The President is disposed to believe that her Majesty's government 
has not countenanced the illegal proceedings of its officers and agents 
since its attention was first directed to the subject, and will consider 
it alike due to itself and to the United States to disavow their acts, 
and deal with them in such a manner as their grave offence merits. 
As recruiting for the British army, in the mode alluded to, is still 
prosecuted within the United States by officers and agents employed 
for that purpose, the President instructs you to say to her Majesty's 
government that he expects it will take prompt and effective measures 
to arrest their proceedings, and to discharge from service those per- 
sons now in it who were enlisted within the United States, or who 
left the United States under contracts made here to enter and serve as 
soldiers in the British army. 

These measures of redress cannot, as the President conceives, be 
withheld on any other ground than the assertion of a right, on the 
part of Great Britain, to employ officers and agents to recruit her 
military forces within our limits, in defiance of our laws and our sov- 
ereign rights. It is not anticipated that any such pretext will be 
alleged : it certainly cannot be permitted to be a subject of discussion.* 

The President instructs you to present the views contained in this 
despatch to her Britannic Majesty's government. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 



James Buchanan, Esq., &c, &c. 



W. L. MARCY. 



Mr, Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] 

[No. 81.] Legation of the United States, 

London, July 20, 1855. 
gjj^ * * * * * * x * * 

I transmit the copy of a note received from Lord Clarendon, dated 
on the 16th instant, in answer to mine of the 6th instant, on the sub- 
ject of the enlistment and employment of soldiers for the British army 
within the limits of the United States. In acknowledging the receipt 
of this note, I have informed his lordship that I shall have much sat- 
isfaction in transmitting a copy of it to the Secretary of State by the 
next steamer. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 

6 This paragraph was omitted in the copy handed to Lord Clarendon. 

in 



258 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Lord Clarendon to Mr. Buchanan. 

Foreign Office, July 16. 1855. 

The undersigned, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for 
foreign affairs, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note 
which Mr. Buchanan, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary of the United States, addressed to him on the 6th instant, re- 
specting attempts stated to have recently "been made to enlist, within 
the limits of the United States, soldiers for the British army. 

The undersigned must, in the first instance, express the regret of 
her Majesty's government if the law of the United States has been in 
any way infringed by persons acting with or without any authority 
from them ; and it is hardly necessary for the undersigned to assure 
Mr. Buchanan that any such infringement of the law of the United 
States is entirely contrary to the wishes and to the positive instruc- 
tions of her Majesty's government. 

The undersigned, however, thinks it right to state to Mr. Buchanan 
that some months ago her Majesty's government were informed, from 
various sources, that in the British North American possessions, as 
well as in the United States, there were many subjects of the Queen 
who, from sentiments of loyalty, and many foreigners who, from po- 
litical feeling, were anxious to enter her Majesty's service, and to take 
part in the war. Her Majesty's government, desirous of availing 
themselves of the offers of these volunteers, adopted the measures 
necessary for making generally known that her Majesty's government 
were ready to do so, and for receiving such persons as should present 
themselves at an appointed place in one of the British possessions. 
The right of her Majesty's government to act in this way was incon- 
testable ; but, at the same time, they issued stringent instructions to 
guard against any violation of the United States law of neutrality ; the 
importance and sound policy of which law have been so well expounded 
by Mr. Buchanan, in whose remarks upon it, as well as upon the 
foreign-enlistment bill of this country, her Majesty's government en- 
tirely concur. 

It can scarcely be matter of surprise that, when it became known 
that her Majesty's government was prepared to accept these voluntary 
offers, many persons in various quarters should give themselves out 
as agents employed by the British government, in the hope of earning 
reward by promoting, though on their own responsibility, an object 
which they were aware was favorably looked upon by the British 
government. Her Majesty's government do not deny that the acts 
and advertisements of these self-constituted and unauthorized agents 
were, in many instances, undoubted violations of the law of the United 
States ; but such persons had no authority whatever for their pro- 
ceedings from any British agents, by all of whom they were promptly 
and unequivocally disavowed. 

With respect to the proclamation by the lieutenant-governor of 
Nova Scotia, enclosed in Mr. Buchanan's note, the undersigned can 
assure Mr. Buchanan, with reference both to the character of Sir 
Gaspard le Marchant, and to the instructions he received, as well as 
to his correspondence on these instructions, that that officer is quite 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 259 

incapable of intentionally acting against the law of the United States ; 
and in proof that he did not in fact do so, the undersigned begs leave 
to refer Mr. Buchanan to the legal decision given on the particular 
point adverted to by Mr. Buchanan, by Judge Kane, on the 22d of 
May last, in the United States circuit court at Philadelphia. The 
judge says : " I do not think that the payment of the passage from, 
this country of a man who desires to enlist in a foreign port, comes 
within the act." [The neutrality act of 1818.] " In the terms of the 
printed proclamation, there is nothing conflicting with the laws of 
the United States. A person may go abroad, provided the enlistment 
be in a foreign place, not having accepted and exercised a commission. 
There is some evidence in Hertz's case that he did hire and retain, 
and therefore his case would have to be submitted to a jury. In Per- 
kins's case there was testimony upon which a jury might convict. In 
Bucknell's case it appears that there was a conversation at which he 
was present, but there was no enlistment, or hiring, or retaining. 
The conversation related as to the practicability of persons going to 
Nova Scotia to enlist. If the rule I have laid down be correct, then 
the evidence does not connect him with the misdemeanor." "Mr. 
Bucknell is, therefore, discharged, and Messrs. Perkins and Hertz are 
remanded to take their trial." 

As regards the proceedings of her Majesty's government, the under- 
signed has the honor to inform Mr. Buchanan that Mr. Crampton 
was directed to issue strict orders to British consuls in the United 
States to be careful not to violate the law, and Mr. Crampton was en- 
joined, above all, to have no concealment from the government of the United 
States. In the absence of Mr. Crampton from Washington, her 
Majesty's charge d'affaires placed in Mr. Marcy's hands a despatch 
from the undersigned on this subject, expressly stating that "her 
Majesty's government would on no account run any risk of infringing 
this (the neutrality) law of the United States." 

The undersigned has, however, the honor, in conclusion, to state to 
Mr. Buchanan that her Majesty's government — having reason to think 
that no precautionary measures, with whatever honesty they might be 
carried out, could effectually guard against some real or apparent in- 
fringement of the law, which would give just cause for complaint to 
the government of the United States — determined that all proceedings 
for enlistment should be put an end to, and instructions to that effect 
were sent out before the undersigned had the honor to receive Mr. 
Buchanan's note, as the undersigned need hardly say that the ad- 
vantage which her Majesty's service might derive from enlistment in 
North America would not be sought for by her Majesty's government, 
if it were supposed to be obtained in disregard of the respect due to 
the law of the United States. 

The undersigned has the honor to renew to Mr. Buchanan the as- 
surance of his highest consideration. 

CLAKENDON. 

Hon. James Buchanan. 



260 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

« 

1 [Extract.] 

[No. 83.] Legation of the United States, 

London, August 3, 1855. 
g IR . ********** 

You will observe, by the London Times of this morning, that Lord 
Palmerston last night in the House of Commons, in answer to an in- 
quiry of Mr. Thomas Milnor Gibson, stated as follows : " With regard 
to the question whicharose in the United States, [respecting the enlist- 
ment or engagement of soldiers for the foreign legion,] I beg to in- 
form the right honorable gentleman that a similar arrangement [to 
that at Heligoland] was made at Halifax, by which any persons going 
there, from whatever quarter, might be enrolled ; but it appearing 
that that had led to questions within the territory of the United 
States as to whether or not the law of that country had been violated, 
her Majesty's government, being desirous that no such questions 
should by possibility arise, has put an end to the enlistment of forces 
which used to take place at Halifax." 

* ** ********* 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary af State. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Crampton. 

Department of State, 

Washington, September 5, 1S55. 

Sir : Having ascertained that the scheme to raise recruits for the 
British army within the limits of the United States was vigorously 
prosecuted after our first conversation on the subject, and that officers 
of her Britannic Majesty's government were taking an active part in 
it, notwithstanding the disapprobation of this government was well 
known, the President directed Mr. Buchanan, the United States min- 
ister at London, to be instructed to bring the subject to the atten- 
tion of Lord Clarendon, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for 
foreign affairs. Lord Clarendon, in his reply to Mr. Buchanan's 
note to him of the 6th of July last, admits that her Majesty's gov- 
ernment did concur in and authorize some measures to be taken to 
introduce persons resident in the United States into the British army, 
but places the justification of the proceedings thus authorized upon 
the narrow ground that " stringent instructions" were issued to the 
British officers and agents to guard against any violation of the 
United States law of neutrality ; and his lordship expresses a con- 
fident opinion that these instructions have been scrupulously observed. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 261 

He is fully aware that volunteers have embarked in the scheme, who 
have violated our laws. Though it was anticipated, as he confesses, 
that such volunteers, assuming to be agents of her Majesty's govern- 
ment, would take a part in carrying out the authorized scheme of 
drawing recruits from the United States, and would be likely to in- 
fringe our laws ; yet as they were, as he alleges, self-constituted and 
unauthorized agents, he assumes that no responsibility for their con- 
duct attaches to her Majesty's government or its officers. 

In authorizing a plan of recruitment which was to be carried out 
in part within our territories, the British government seems to have 
forgotten that the United States had sovereign rights, as well as mu- 
nicipal laws, which were entitled to its respect. For very obvious 
reasons, the officers employed by her Majesty's government in raising 
recruits from the United States would, of course, be cautioned to avoid 
exposing themselves to the penalties prescribed by our laws ; but the 
United States had a right to expect something more than precautions 
to evade those penalties ; they had a right to expect that the govern- 
ment and officers of Great Britain would regard the policy indicated 
by these laws, and respect our sovereign rights as an independent and 
friendly power. 

It is exceedingly to be regretted that this international aspect of the 
case was overlooked. As to the officers of the British government, it 
is not barely a question whether they have or have not exposed them- 
selves to the penalties of our laws, but whether they have in their pro- 
ceedings violated international law and offered an affront to the sov- 
ereignty of the United States. As functionaries of a foreign government, 
their duties towards this country as a neutral and sovereign power are 
not prescribed by our legislative enactments, but by the law of nations. 
In this respect their relation to this government differs from that of 
private persons. Had there been no acts of Congress on the subject, 
foreign governments are forbidden by that law to do anything which 
would in any manner put to hazard our position of neutrality in re- 
spect to the belligerents. 

The information which has been laid before the President has con- 
vinced him that the proceedings resorted to for the purpose of drawing 
recruits from this country for the British army have been instigated 
and carried on by the active agency of British officers, and that their 
participation therein has involved them in the double offence of in- 
fringing our laws and violating our sovereign territorial rights. 

If there were sufficient reasons to believe that by skilfully interpos- 
ing private persons as ostensible actors in carrying out their arrange- 
ments, these officers have successfully shielded themselves from the pen- 
alties of our laws, still they, as well as their government, if they have 
acted by its authority, are responsible as parties to a procedure which 
constitutes an international offence of such a grave character as cannot 
be passed unnoticed by this government. While strenuously exerting 
its authority, as it has frequently done, and is still doing, to prosecute 
and punish its own citizens for infringing its obligations of neutrality, 
it could not allow itself to pass lightly over the like offence committed 
by foreigners acting as the authorized agents of another government. 

The case which the United States feel bound to present to her 



262 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Majesty's government involves considerations not embraced in Lord 
Clarendon's reply to Mr. Buchanan's note. The question is not 
whether that government has authorized, or any of its officers have 
done, acts for which the punishment denounced by our laws can be in- 
flicted ; but whether they participated in any form or manner in pro- 
ceedings contrary to international law, or derogatory to our national 
sovereignty. It is not now necessary, therefore, to consider what 
technical defence these officers might interpose if on trial for violating 
our municipal laws. 

This whole scheme of raising recruits for the British army within 
or from the United States, together with the agents and means used 
to carry it out, is now in the way of being developed, and I regret 
that the disclosures already made appear to implicate so many of her 
Majesty's officers resident as well in the United States as in the adja- 
cent British provinces. The President perceives with much regret 
that the disclosures implicate you in these proceedings. He has, 
therefore, preferred to communicate the views contained in this note 
to her Majesty's government through you, her representative here, 
rather than through our minister at London. The information in his 
possession does not allow him to doubt that yourself, as well as the 
lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, and several civil and military offi- 
cers of the British government of rank in the provinces, were instru- 
mental in setting on foot this scheme of enlistment ; have offered 
inducements to agents to embark in it, and approved of the arrange- 
ments for carrying it out, which embraced various recruiting estab- 
lishments in different cities of the United States, and made liberal 
provision for funds to be used as inducements for persons residing 
therein to leave the country for the purpose of enlisting in the British 
military service. These arrangements are utterly incompatible with 
any pretence that they were designed merely to afford facilities to 
British subjects or other foreigners in this country to carry out their 
wishes, prompted purely by "sentiments of loyalty" or "political 
feeling," to participate with the allies in the existing war in Europe. 

The information in the possession of this government is so well es- 
tablished by proof, and corroborated by so many public acts, that the 
President feels warranted in presenting to the British government this 
conduct of her Majesty's officers, as disrespectful to the United States 
and incompatible with the friendly relations between the two countries. 

Among the solemn duties imposed upon the President is that of 
maintaining and causing to be respected the sovereign rights of the 
United States, and to vindicate before the world their good faith in 
sustaining neutral relations with other powers ; and from this duty he 
will not allow himself to be diverted, however unpleasantly it may 
affect his personal or official relations with individuals. 

The course which the President would deem it proper to take to- 
wards the implicated officers within the United States, depends in 
some measure upon their relation to their government in this matter. 
Lord Clarendon's note of the 16th of July does not make it quite 
clear that her Majesty's government is prepared to disavow the acts 
complained of, and to throw the entire responsibility of them upon its 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 263 

officers and agents. " Stringent instructions' ' were undoubtedly given 
to her Majesty's officers "to guard against any violation of the United 
States law of neutrality ;" but it does not appear that respect for our 
territorial sovereignty, or the well-known policy of the United States 
as a neutral, not specifically embraced in our municipal enactments, 
was enjoined. The instructions might, therefore, be formally complied 
with, and these officers at the same time do acts which constitute an 
offence against our rights as a sovereign power. Such acts it is be- 
lieved they have committed ; whether with or without the approval or 
countenance of their government does not authoritatively appear. 

Lord Clarendon, it is apprehended, was not well informed as to the 
proceedings which had taken place in regard to the recruitments in 
this country, when he expressed the opinion that the persons engaged 
in carrying them out, whose conduct he does not deny was illegal, 
were self-constituted and unauthorized agents. This government has 
good reasons for believing that these agents had the direct sanction of 
British officers for their conduct, and were employed by them. 

If these officers are sustained in what they have done, and author- 
ized others to do in this matter, by their government, the President 
will look to that government in the first instance, at least for a proper 
measure of satisfaction ; but if their conduct is disavowed, and de- 
clared to have been contrary to the instructions and without the coun- 
tenance or sanction of her Majesty's government, the course imposed 
upon him by a sense of duty will in that case be changed. 

The object of this note is to ascertain how far the acts of the known 
and acknowledged agents of the British government, done within the 
United States, in carrying out this scheme of recruiting for the British 
army, have been authorized ' or sanctioned by her Majesty's govern- 
ment. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assu- 
rance of my high consideration. 

W. L. MAKCY. 

John F. Crampton, Esq., dec, dc, &c. 



Mr. Crampton to Mr. Marcy. 

Washington, September 7, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of 
the 5th instant, upon the subject of alleged recruitments in the United 
States of soldiers for the British army. 

As your note, although addressed to myself, refers in a great meas- 
ure to a correspondence which has taken place between Lord Claren- 
don and Mr. Buchanan, on the same subject, I have thought it expe- 
dient to defer replying at length to your present communication, 
until I shall have been more fully put in possession of the views of 
her Majesty's government, in regard to all the matters to which it 
relates. 

I shall then do myself the honor of addressing to you a further 
communication ; and I confidently trust that I shall be enabled alto- 



264 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

gether to remove the unfavorable impression which has been created 
as to the motives and conduct of her Majesty's government, and their 
officers, including myself, in regard to this matter. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assu- 
rance of my high consideration. 

JOHN F. CRAMPTON. 

Hon. W. L. Makcy, dec, &c } &c 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[No. 107.] Depaktment of State, 

Washington, September 8, 1855. 

Sir : In my private letter of the 2d instant, I informed you that I 
had prepared an official note, relative to the British enlistments 
within the United States, to which British officers were auxiliary. 
As Mr. Crampton was personally implicated, it was determined to 
send it to him, although other communications on the subject had 
been addressed to you. 

The note was sent to Mr. Crampton on the 5th instant, and yester- 
day I received one from him, in which he informs me that he shall 
send my note to his government for directions as to the reply. 

I herewith transmit to you copies of the notes above alluded to, 
together with copies of a part of the proofs in possession of this gov- 
ernment on the subject, implicating her Britannic Majesty's officers. 
I do not believe Strobel's statement can be successfully impeached. I 
am quite sure it cannot be in its essential parts. Lord Clarendon 
must have been misinformed as to the actual state of things here, 
when he assured you that the persons who had violated our neutrality 
law were self-constituted and unauthorized agents. If the British 
government choose to take pains to ascertain what disposition has 
been made of the large sums of money expended in carrying out the 
scheme of enlistments in this country, it will find that a considerable 
amount of it has gone into the hands of these agents, and that it was 
paid to them for the purpose of being expended in the United States, 
in raising recruits for the British military service. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MARCY. 

James Buchanan, Esq., dec, dec, dec 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 
[Extract.] 

[No. 93.] Legation of the United States, 

London, September 28, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch 
No. 107, of the 8th instant, with the accompanying documents. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 265 

I transmit to you the copy of a note of yesterday's date, received 
this morning from Lord Clarendon, in reference to your note to Mr. 
Crampton of the 5th instant, on the subject of British recruitments in 
the United States, together with a copy of my note of this date ac- 
knowledging its receipt. I have been thus prompt in notifying his 
lordship that I had no instructions which would warrant me in inter- 
fering with the correspondence commenced between Mr. Crampton 
and yourself at Washington, so that there might be no reason for any 
delay on the part of the British government in sending their instruc- 
tions to that gentleman. I doubt very much, however, whether the 
confident trust expressed by him in his note to you of the *7th instant 
will be realized, that after having been more fully put into possession 
of the views of his government he "shall be enabled altogether to re- 
move the unfavorable impression which has been created as to the 
motives and conduct of her Majesty's government and their officers, 
including myself, [himself,] in regard to this matter." Lord Claren- 
don's note to me of yesterday renders it improbable that Mr. Cramp- 
ton will receive any such instructions ; and I doubt whether the 
expression of his confident trust to this effect has received the appro- 
bation of his lordship. 

I also transmit a copy of my note of the 18th July last to Lord 
Clarendon, to which he refers in his note to me of yesterday. I com- 
municated to you the substance of this note in my No. 81, of the 20th 
July, though at that time I did not deem it necessary to send a full 
copy. 

I have not time at present, before the closing of the bag, to make 

some observations which I had intended to do on the subject. I may 

resume it next week. 

******** 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Lord Clarendon to Mr. Buchanan. 

Foreign Office, September 27, 1855. 
Mr. Buchanan, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the United States at this court, will probably have received from 
his government a copy of a letter which Mr. Marcy, Secretary of State 
of the United States, addressed to Mr. Crampton, her Britannic Majes- 
ty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in the United 
States, on the 5th of this month, on the subject of the communication 
which the undersigned, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for 
foreign affairs, had the honor to make to Mr. Buchanan on the 16th 
of July, in reply to his note of the 6th of that month, complaining 
of the proceedings of British agents and British colonial authorities 
in raising within the States of the Union recruits for the British 



266 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

military service, in violation (as was alleged) of the act of Congress 
ofthe20thof April, 1818. 

The undersigned had hoped, from the answer which he received 
from Mr. Buchanan on the 18th of July, that the explanations and 
assurances which he had given on this suhject in his note of the 16th 
of that month would have proved as satisfactory to the government 
of the United States as they appeared to he to Mr. Buchanan ; and it 
was therefore with no less disappointment than regret that her Majes- 
ty's government perused the letter addressed by Mr. Marcy to Mr. 
Crampton on the 5th instant, of which the undersigned encloses a 
copy to Mr. Buchanan, in case he should not have received it from 
Washington. 

In this letter, Mr. Marcy, laying less stress than Mr. Buchanan did 
upon the alleged infraction of the municipal laws of the United States, 
dwells chiefly upon the point, which was but slightly adverted to by 
Mr. Buchanan, of an assumed disregard of the sovereign rights of the 
United States on the part of the British authorities or the agents em- 
ployed by them. 

Her Majesty's government have no reason to believe that such has 
been the conduct of any persons in the employment of her Majesty, 
and it is needless to say that any person so employed would have de- 
parted no less from the intentions of her Majesty's government by 
violating international law, or by offering an affront to the sovereignty 
of the United States, than by infringing the municipal laws of the 
Union, to which Mr. Buchanan more particularly called the attention 
of the undersigned. Her Majesty's government feel confident that 
even the extraordinary measures which have been adopted in various 
parts of the Union to obtain evidence against her Majesty's servants, 
or their agents, by practices sometimes resorted to under despotic in- 
stitutions, but which are disdained by all free and enlightened gov- 
ernments, will fail to establish any well-founded charge against her 
Majesty's servants. 

The British government is fully aware of the obligations of inter- 
national duties, and is no less mindful of those obligations than is the 
government of the United States. The observance of those obliga- 
tions ought, undoubtedly, to be reciprocal ; and her Majesty's govern- 
ment do not impute to the government of the United States, that 
while claiming an observance of those obligations by Great Britain, 
they are lax in enforcing a respect for those obligations within the 
Union. 

But as this subject has been mooted by Mr. Marcy, her Majesty's 
government cannot refrain from some few remarks respecting it. 

The United States profess neutrality in the present war between the 
Western Powers and Bussia ; but have no acts been done within the 
United States, by citizens thereof, which accord little with the spirit 
of neutrality ? Have not arms and ammunition, and warlike stores 
of various kinds, been sent in large quantities from the United States for 
the service of Kussia ? Have not plots been openly avowed, and con- 
spiracies entered into without disguise or hindrance, in various parts 
of the Union, to take advantage of the war in which Grreat Britain is 
engaged, and to seize the opportunity for promoting insurrection in 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 267 

her Majesty's dominions, and the invasion thereof by an armed force 
proceeding from the United States ? 

Her Majesty's government have been silent on these matters, which 
they did not consider indicative of the general feelings of the Ameri- 
can people ; for, remembering the many ties and sympathies which 
connect the people of the United States with the two powerful nations 
who are engaged in the present contest with Russia, they were con- 
vinced that a free, enlightened, and generous race, such as the citi- 
zens of the great North American Union, must entertain on the im- 
portant questions at issue, sentiments in harmony with those which 
animate not only the British and French nations, but the great mass 
of the nations of Western Europe ; and her Majesty's government 
would not have adverted to the exceptional course pursued by a cer- 
tain number of individuals, if it had not been for the above-mentioned 
statements in Mr. Marcy's note. 

But her Majesty's government think themselves entitled to claim 
the same credit for sincerity of purpose and uprightness of conduct 
which they readily allow to the government of the United States ; 
and to expect that their assurance should be received, that as they 
have enjoined on all her Majesty's servants a strict observance of the 
laws of the United States, so they have no reason to believe that any 
of her Majesty's servants, or any agents duly authorized by those ser- 
vants, have disregarded those injunctions in respect to the matters 
which form the subject of this note. 

The undersigned requests Mr. Buchanan to accept the assurance of 
his highest consideration. 

CLABENDON. 

Hon. James Buchanan, &c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Buchanan to Lord Clarendon. 

Legation of the United States, 

London, September 28, 1855. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the United (States, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the 
note, dated on the 27th instant, from the Earl of Clarendon, her Ma- 
jesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, in reference to 
the note of the 5th instant, addressed by Mr. Marcy, the Secretary of 
State, to Mr. Crampton, her Britannic Majesty's minister at Wash- 
ington, on the subject of the enlistment and engagement of soldiers 
for the British army within the limits of the United States ; and he 
will not fail to transmit to Washington a copy of his lordship's note 
by to-morrow's steamer. 

The undersigned forbears to make any observations on this note, or 
to interfere in any manner with the correspondence commenced at 
Washington between the Secretary of State and Mr. Crampton, , as he 
has received no instructions which would warrant him in so doing. 



268 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

The undersigned has the honor to renew to the Earl of Clarendon 
the assurance of his distinguished consideration. 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
The Eight Honorable the Earl op Clarendon, 

&c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Buchanan to Lord Clarendon. 

Legation of the United States, 

London, July 18, 1855. 

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
of the United States, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the 
note which the Earl of Clarendon, her Majesty's principal secretary 
of state for foreign affairs, addressed to him on the 16th instant, in 
answer to his note of the 6th instant, on the subject of the enlistment 
and employment of soldiers for the British army within the United 
States ; and the undersigned will have much satisfaction in transmit- 
ting a copy of his lordship's note to the Secretary of State by the 
next steamer. 

The undersigned has the honor to renew to the Earl of Clarendon 
the assurance of his distinguished consideration. 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

The Eight Honorable the Earl of Clarendon, 

&c, dec, &c. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[No. 113.] Department of State, 

Washington, October 1, 1855. 

Sir : I herewith send you papers containing the report of the trial 
of Hertz,, for a violation of our neutrality laws, by enlisting soldiers 
for the British army. 

The testimony shows that Mr. Crampton and several other British 
officials are deeply implicated in the transaction. Lord Clarendon's 
note, in answer to yours bringing the subject to his notice, assumed 
that none of her Majesty's officers had been in any way engaged in 
the plan of recruiting within the United States. Had the facts been 
as he assumed them to be, and this government had had no reason to 
believe that the measure was not designed to draw recruits from tbe 
United States, his lordship's reply would have been satisfactory. 

Subsequent developments show that Lord Clarendon was misin- 
formed as to the true state of the case. 

The second despatch to you on the subject showed that the ground 
of grievance was not confined to the mere fact of a violation of our 
neutrality laws by British officers. It presented the case as a national 
offence committed by them, irrespective of those laws. These officers 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 269 

may have contrived to shield themselves from the penalties of our 
laws, and yet have committed an offence against our sovereign terri- 
torial rights. This latter aspect of the case was distinctly presented 
in my last despatch to you on the subject. It was this view of the 
case which the President wished you to present to her Majesty's min- 
ister of foreign relations. 

It is important, with reference to proceedings against British officers 
residing within the United States, that the President should know 
whether the government of Great Britain mean to justify or condemn 
their conduct. 

The disclosures which have heen made leave no doubt of the fact 
that some of these officers have taken an active part in raising recruits 
in the United States. If their conduct was unauthorized and is con- 
demned, it is proper that this government should be apprized of the 
fact, as well as of the punishment which has been, or is proposed to 
be, inflicted upon them ; but if, on the other hand, the British govern- 
ment approve of the course pursued by its officers, it is important that 
its determination in that respect should be known. 
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MARCY. 

Jambs Buchanan, Esq., &c, &c, &c. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] 

[No. 94.] Legation of the United States, 

London, October 3, 1855. 

Cj R .Jit******* 

In my last despatch, No. 93, of the 28th ultimo, I stated that I 
had not then time, before the closing of the bag, to make the obser- 
vations I had intended on the subject to which it refers, but intimated 
that I might do so this week. 

The alleged agency of Mr. Crampton in the recruitment of British 
soldiers within the limits of the United States presents a serious aspect. 
From the information contained in your despatch (No. 91) of the 9th 
June, we had reason to expect a different course of conduct on his 
part. I need scarcely say that, had I been informed that her Britannic 
Majesty's representative at Washington had placed himself in the 
position attributed to him by Captain Strobel, I should not have ex- 
pressed to Lord Clarendon my satisfaction in transmitting to you his 
note of the 16th of July. 

It is remarkable that Lord Clarendon, in his note to myself of the 
2uTth ultimo, whilst commenting on your note of the 5th September 
to Mr. Crampton, should have been totally silent in regard to that 
gentleman after what you had said respecting his conduct. 

I cannot but regard as offensive the remark of his lordship on " the 
extraordinary measures which," he alleges, "have been adopted in 
various parts of the Union to obtain evidence against her Majesty's 
servants, or their agents, by practices sometimes resorted to under 



270 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

despotic institutions, but which are disdained by all free and en- 
lightened governments;" though he would doubtless say these were 
not intended to apply in an offensive sense to the American govern- 
ment. He probably alludes to occurrences at Cincinnati and other 
places. 

If arms and ammunition, and warlike stores of various kinds, have 
been sent in large quantities from the United States for the service of 
Russia, as his lordship alleges, this is nothing more than our citizens 
had a right to do, subject to the risk under the law of contraband. 
Similar articles have been sent from the United States to Great Britain 
in large quantities. Besides, at the present moment, and ever since 
the commencement of the present war, many of our vessels have been 
engaged as transports, by Great Britain and France, to carry troops 
and munitions of war to the Crimea. When this business first com- 
menced, I was applied to by masters and agents of American vessels 
for information as to what penalties they would incur by engaging in 
it, and I stated to them that their vessels would be lawful prize if 
captured by the Russians. For this reason I advised them to obtain 
an indemnity from the government employing them against this risk. 

The " plots" to which his lordship refers relate chiefly, I presume, 
(for I do not know,) to the proceedings and address of the " Massa- 
chusetts Irish Emigrant Aid Society," at Boston, on the 14th August. 
These were republished in the London Times on the 11th September ; 
and you will find an editorial, on this subject, on the following day. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marct, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] 

Legation oe the United States, 

London, October 30, 1855. 

K!tt> ■ ^ ^ ^ 3}c 2fc rj< ^c 

But I have not since taken any action upon your No. 102, for the 
plainest reason. I had, previously to its arrival, transmitted to you a 
copy of Lord Clarendon's note, already referred to, of the 16th July, 
on the subject of the enlistment and employment of soldiers for the 
British army within our limits, and had informed his lordship, in 
acknowledging the receipt of this note, that I should have much sat- 
isfaction in transmitting a copy of it to the Secretary of State. Of 
course it would have been improper for me to take any new step in 
this matter until I should learn whether this note would prove satis- 
factory to yourself. Again : your No. 102 states that, after many 
months had elapsed, British officers were still proceeding to violate 
our laws, and persist " in carrying on the obnoxious scheme without 
any open disapproval by the home government, or any attempt 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 271 

to arrest it;" and one of the two express instructions which the Presi- 
dent gives me in conclusion is, "to say to her Majesty's government 
that he expects it will take prompt and effective measures to arrest 
their proceedings." Now, these measures had been already adopted, 
but could not possibly have been known to you. Lord Clarendon's 
note had entirely changed the aspect of the case from the view which 
you took of it, and must necessarily have taken of it, at the date of 
your No. 102. The general tenor of this note — its disavowals and its 
regrets — were certainly conciliatory, and the concluding paragraph, 
declaring that all proceedings for enlistments in North America had 
been put an end to by her Majesty's government, for the avowed 
reason that the advantages which her Majesty's service might derive 
from such enlistments would not be sought for by her Majesty's gov- 
ernment if it were supposed to be obtained in disregard of the respect 
due to the law of the United States, was highly satisfactory. It was 
for these reasons that I expressed the satisfaction I would have in 
communicating it to you. Then came the declaration of Lord Pal- 
merston to the same effect in the House of Commons, on the 2d Au- 
gust, in which he explicitly declared that, in order to avoid questions 
with the United States, the government " had put an end to the en- 
listment of forces which used to take place at Halifax." This decla- 
ration was, to my knowledge, received with much satisfaction by Mr. 
Milnor Gibson, who had made the inquiry of Lord Palmerston, as 
well as by many other liberal members of Parliament. Very differ- 
ent, indeed, had been the conduct of the British government in this 
respect towards certain continental states. 

I can assure you that I did not entertain the most remote idea that 
this question had not been satisfactorily adjusted until I learned the 
complicity of Mr. Crampton in the affair. This was officially com- 
municated to me in your despatch No. 107, of the 8th, received on tbe 
24th of September, with a copy of your letter to Mr. Crampton, on the 
5th, and his answer of the 7th of the same month. From these, it 
appears you had thought it due to Mr. Crampton, no doubt properly, 
to take the affair in hand yourself, and this you have done in an able 
manner in your letter to that gentleman. Thus much I have deemed 
necessary to place myself rectus in curia. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 

Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Harcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[No. 118.] Department of State, 

Washington, October 13, 1855. 

Sir: The copy of Lord Clarendon's note of the 27th ultimo, which 
you transmitted to the department with your despatch No. 93, has been 
received. I have laid it before the President, and am directed to 
make the following reply : 

The case presented to her Britannic Majesty's government, in my 



272 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

note to Mr. Crampton, contained a distinct charge that British officers 
and agents had infringed our laws enacted for the maintenance of our 
duties of neutrality to friendly powers, and that some of these officers 
and agents in the employment of their government within the United 
States, and others, residents in the neighboring British provinces, had 
also violated our sovereign territorial rights, by being engaged in re- 
cruiting for the British army within our territories. The mode by 
which this recruiting had been carried on, and the connexion of these 
with it, were clearly stated. 

A scheme for that purpose had been arranged by British officers. 
Agents had been employed by them to open rendezvous in our prin- 
cipal cities, numerous engagements had been made with recruits, 
money had been paid to them_, and liberal promises of other consid- 
erations offered as an inducement for entering into the British service, 
and they bad been taken out of the United States by means furnished 
by persons in the employment of the British government. 

It was also stated that the evidence establishing these allegations 
against the officers and agents of the British government was of such 
a character that this government could not reasonably doubt its ac- 
curacy. 

The President has given to the reply of Lord Clarendon, her Bri- 
tannic Majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, to 
the case thus presented by this government, the full consideration it 
is entitled to on account of the high source from which it emanates, 
and he regrets to be obliged to adopt the conclusion that it is not sat- 
isfactory. 

This government had a right to look for something more in that 
reply than an expectation on the part of her Majesty's government 
"that their assurance should be received that, as they have enjoined 
on all her Majesty's servants a strict observance of the laws of the 
United States, so they have no reason to believe that any of her Ma- 
jesty's servants, or any agents duly authorized by those servants, have 
disregarded those injunctions in respect to the matters which form the 
subject of this [Lord Clarendon's] note." This is a very laconic, but 
certainly a very unsatisfactory answer to the demand of redress by 
this government for a violation of its laws and an affront to the sov- 
ereign rights of this country. 

This conclusion adopted by Lord Clarendon is preceded by a general 
objection to all the evidence by which the charges against the British 
officers and agents are sustained. 

Lord Clarendon declares that the "extraordinary" measures 
adopted to obtain evidence against her Majesty's servants or their 
agents, though "sometimes resorted to under despotic institutions, 
are disdained by all free and enlightened governments." This serious 
imputation is accompanied with no specification, or even vague allu- 
sion to the condemned measures, nor is the government favored by his 
lordship with any information to guide conjecture as to his meaning. 

The only reply which can be made to an allegation so exceedingly 
indefinite is, that this government has authorized or used no other 
but ordinary and legitimate modes of obtaining evidence against 
British officers ; nor has it any reason to believe or suspect that any 
parsons, with or without its countenance, have adopted any measures 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 273 

whatever for obtaining such evidence, which would not find abundant 
sanction in the established practice of the administration of penal law 
in Great Britain. It is a significant fact, that on the trials in Phila- 
delphia and New York, in which the accused were convicted for being- 
engaged in carrying out the scheme of recruitments within the United 
States, no such objection as that by which Lord Clarendon would fain 
set aside all the evidence as worthless was interposed or made to ap- 
pear, though some of her Majesty's officers were present at these trials, 
took a deep interest in the defence of the criminals, and were directly 
implicated by the proofs as participants in the offence. 

Bepelling this charge of imitating "despotic institutions," and 
doing what' is " disdained by all free and enlightened governments," it 
is proper to remark, that, if it were sustainable, it would not warrant 
the conclusion which Lord Clarendon has deduced from it ; which is, 
that the evidence "will fail to establish any well-founded charge 
against her Majesty's government." It is far from being certain that 
the measures adopted for obtaining the evidence, even if they had 
been extraordinary and exceptionable, would invalidate it, for it might 
still be of such a character as to carry conviction to the mind of the 
truth of the allegations. 

Should her Britannic Majesty's government see fit to^ disclose any 
specific objection to the mode by which the evidence has been obtained, 
or attempt in any other way to impeach it, this government will then 
feel called on to vindicate its course, and show its ability to sustain its 
charges, by evidence to which no just exception can be taken. Neither 
the promises on which Lord Clarendon founds his argument for set- 
ting aside the testimony against the implicated British officers, nor 
the inference he deduces from them, can be admitted by this government. 

Lord Clarendon must, I think, intend to be understood as impeach- 
ing our neutrality in the present war, though there appears to be some 
indistinctness in his language. In commenting upon so grave a 
charge, coming from so respectable an authority, it is but fair to quote 
his own words : 

"The United States profess neutrality in the present war between 
the Western Powers and Bussia ; but have no acts been done within 
the United States, by citizens thereof, which accord little with the 
spirit of neutrality? Have not arms and ammunition, and warlike 
stores of various kinds, been sent in large quantities from the United 
States for the service of Bussia?" 

It is certainly a novel doctrine of international law, that traffic by 
citizens or subjects of a neutral power with belligerents, though it 
should be in arms, ammunition, and warlike stores, compromits the 
neutrality of that power. That the enterprise of individuals, citizens 
of the United States, may have led them in some instances, and to a 
limited extent, to trade with Bussia, in some of the specified articles, 
is not denied ; nor is it necessary that it should be, for the purpose of 
vindicating this government from the charge of having diregarded 
the duties of neutrality in the present war. 

Lord Clarendon is most respectfully asked to look on the other side 
of the case. Have the citizens of the United States had no traffic with 
Great Britain, during the present war, in arms, ammunition, and 
18 a 



274 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

warlike stores ? It must be known to his lordship, for it is a matter 
of notoriety, that our citizens, in their character as individuals, have 
rendered substantial aid to both England and France in the prosecu- 
tion of hostilities against Russia. Though Lord Clarendon may have 
momentarily forgotten, he will readily call to mind the fact, that a 
large number of our merchant ships have been engaged, from the 
commencement of the war down to this time, in transporting troops 
and munitions of war for Great Britain, from British ports, either in 
the United Kingdom or the Mediterranean, to the Crimea ; to say 
nothing of the numerous American merchant vessels employed in con- 
veying troops and munitions of war from the ports of France. 

Private manufacturing establishments in the United States have 
been resorted to for powder, arms, and warlike stores, for the use of 
the allies ; and immense quantities of provisions have been furnished 
to supply their armies in the Crimea. In the face of these facts, open 
and known to all the world, it certainly was not expected that the 
British government would have alluded to the very limited traffic 
which some of our citizens may have had with Russia, as sustaining 
a solemn charge against this government for violating neutral obliga- 
tions towards the allies. Russia may have shared scantily, but the 
allies have undoubtedly partaken largely, in benefits derived from the 
capital, the industry, and the inventive genius of American citizens 
in the progress of the war ; but, as this government has had no con- 
nexion with these proceedings, neither belligerent has any just ground 
of complaint against it. 

Lord Clarendon further asks : "Have not plots been openly avowed, 
and conspiracies entered into, without disguise or hindrance, in various 
parts of the Union, to take advantage of the war in which G-reat 
Britain is engaged, and to seize the opportunity for promoting insur- 
rection in her Majesty's dominions, and the invasion thereof by an 
armed force proceeding from the United States?" 

This government replies, that it has no knowledge or belief what- 
ever of the existence of any such plots or conspiracies. It has only 
seen it stated in English newspapers, that a few persons from Ireland 
had congregated together at Boston, or in its vicinity, adopted some 
resolutions in relation to the condition of their countrymen at home, 
and made some suggestions in relation to what they regarded as an 
amelioration of the condition of the land of their birth. It was not 
here considered a noticeable affair, and only became known to any 
member of this government by the comments upon it which appeared 
in the British press. On inquiry, it is ascertained that a very few 
individuals were present at that meeting, and it was probably the 
result of the British scheme of recruiting which was at that time 
vigorously prosecuted in Boston. It was a proceeding no more 
noticeable, and far less harmful, than the daily machinations of for- 
eign fugitives collected in London against the governments of their 
native countries. Those who assembled in Boston will probably 
rejoice at having effected much more than they anticipated when they 
shall learn that their proceedings have attracted the attention of her 
Britannic Majesty's government, and been regarded as a disturbing 
movement against the British dominions. 

If the British government believe that plots and conspiracies are 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 275 

really on foot in any part of the United States, and will furnish any 
clue by which they can he detected, it may he assured that this gov- 
ernment will act promptly and efficiently in bringing them to light, 
and punishing the offenders ; and it will not consider itself in any 
way relieved from doing its whole duty in this respect by what has 
taken place here in reference to recruitments for the British army. 

This government is not less mindful than that of Great Britain or 
France of the many ties and sympathies which connect the people of 
the United States with those two powerful nations, and it will go as 
far and do as much as either to strengthen and cherish those senti- 
ments, in the hope of making them available for all legitimate pur- 
poses to maintain friendly relations, and increase social and commer- 
cial intercourse ; but G-raat Britain ought not to indulge the expecta- 
tion that those sentiments can be permitted to draw the United States 
over the line which marks their duty to themselves as well as to the 
belligerents and all friendly powers. 

It would be an inexcusable perversion of such sentiments if they 
were permitted to induce this government to pass unnoticed the viola- 
tion of its laws, or to throw open its territories to the recruiting 
officers of any foreign power. 

The expectation that the United States would yield to such preten- 
sions, or forbear to claim redress when such an affront to their sove- 
reign rights had been offered, could only be founded on a belief that 
they were prepared to abandon their position of strict neutrality, and 
run the hazard of plunging into the struggle which now convulses 
Europe. 

Supported as this government is in the charge made against British 
officers and agents, of having infringed our laws and violated our 
sovereign territorial rights, and being able to sustain that charge by 
competent proof, the President would fail in due respect for the na- 
tional character of the United States, and in his duty to maintain it, 
if he did not decline to accept, as a satisfaction for the wrongs com- 
plained of, Lord Clarendon's assurance that these officials were en- 
joined a strict observance of- our laws, and that he does not believe 
that any of them have disregarded the injunction. 

This government believes, and has abundant proof to warrant its 
belief, that her Britannic Majesty's officers and agents have trans- 
gressed our laws and disregarded our rights, and that its solemn duty 
requires that it should vindicate both by insisting upon a proper sat- 
isfaction. The President indulges the hope that this demand for , 
redress will be deemed reasonable, and be acceded to by her Britannic 
Majesty's government. 

This government has indicated the satisfaction which it believes it 
has a right to claim from the British government in my despatch to 
you of the 15th of July last. 

The President directs you to urge upon her Britannic Majesty's 
government the views contained in that despatch, and to read this to 
Lord Clarendon, and deliver a copy if he should desire it. 
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

• W. L. MARCY. 

James Buchanan, Esq., dc, &c, dc. 



276 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] 

[No. 99.] Legation of the United States, 

London, November 2, 1855. 

W-r-p • *l» "T* ^ *r- *l» *T" 

According to the appointment mentioned in my last despatch, I 
met Lord Clarendon yesterday afternoon at the Foreign Office. After 
some unimportant conversation, I told him that on my return to the le- 
gation on Monday last I found a despatch from yourself on the recruit- 
ment question, which I had been instructed to read to him, and fur- 
nish him a copy if requested. He said he had also despatches from 
Washington on the same subject. I then stated that Mr. Crampton 
having promised, in his note of the fan of September, to address you 
again after hearing from his lordship, I should be glad to know 
whether he had furnished instructions to Mr. Crampton for this pur- 
pose. He told me he had not; that he had pursued the usual diplo- 
matic course in such cases, in addressing me a note in answer to the 
note addressed by you to Mr. Crampton. I said, Very well; then your 
note to me of the 27th of September is the answer to Mr. Marcy's note 
to Mr. Crampton of the 5th of that month, and the despatch which I 
was about to read to him was your answer to his note to me of the 
2*1 tb. of September. To this he assented. 

I then read to him your despatch to me of the 13th of October, to 
which he listened throughout with great apparent attention. After the 
reading he requested a copy, and I delivered him the duplicate which 
you had forwarded. He'then asked what was the nature of the satis- 
faction from the British government to which you had referred in 
your despatch just read. I said that the best mode of giving him the 
information was to read to him this despatch of yours to me, which I 
accordingly did, * * * • * -of which he also desired a copy, and 
I promised to furnish it. I had prepared myself to state in conversation 
the substance of what this despatch required from the British govern- 
ment ; but having the despatch with me, I thought it better at the 
moment, in order to prevent all misapprehension, to read it to him, 
as it had evidently been prepared with much care. I have sent him 
a copy of it to-day. ****** 

I then stated, his lordship would observe that the government of 
the United States had two causes of complaint: the one was such 
violations of our neutrality laws as might be tried and punished in 
the courts of the United States ; the other — to which I especially 
desired to direct his attention — consisted in a violation of our neu- 
trality, under the general law of nations, by the attempts which had 
been made by British officers and agents, not punishable under our 
municipal law, to draw military forces from our territory to recruit 
their armies in the Crimea. As examples of this, I passed in review 
the conduct of Mr. Crampton, of the lieutenant-governor of Nova 
Scotia, and the British consuls at New York and Philadelphia. 

I observed that, in his note of the 16th July, he had assured me 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 277 

W 

that the individuals engaged in recruiting in the United States acted 
upon their individual responsibility, and had no authority for their 
proceedings from any British officials, by whom their conduct was 
condemned. In addition, he had stated that instructions had been 
sent out to Sir G-aspard le Marchant to stop all enlistments in North 
America. [Yes, his lordship observed, they were sent out on the 22d 
of June last.] I said I had expressed the satisfaction which I felt 
in transmitting this note to Mr. Marcy, and was, therefore, sorry to 
say satisfactory proof existed that Mr. Crampton and other British 
officers had, before and since, been engaged in aiding and countenan- 
cing these proceedings and recruitments. In fact, Wagner had been 
convicted at New York for a violation of our neutrality law commit- 
ted at so late a period as the 3d of August. 

Lord Clarendon sat silent and attentive whilst I was making these 
remarks, and then took from his drawer several sheets of paper, con- 
taining extracts from a despatch of Mr. Crampton, (received, as I 
understood, by the last steamer^) some of which he read to me. 

Mr. Crampton emphatically denies the truth of Strobel's testimony 
and Hertz's confession, as well as all complicity in the recruitments. 
I expressed my surprise at this, and said that Strobel's character was 
respectable, so far as I had ever learned, and that his testimony was 
confirmed by several documents, implicating Mr. Crampton, which 
had been given in evidence on the trial of Hertz. I told him he 
would see this on a perusal of the trial itself, of which I gave him a 
copy. 

I asked him whether he intended I should communicate to you my 
recollection of the particular extracts he had read to me from Mr. 
Crampton' s despatch. He said he would prefer I should not ; that 
he would examine and sift the subject with great care, and preferred 
to present these to you in his own language. 

In concluding this part of the conversation, Lord Clarendon de- 
clared, in a sincere and emphatic manner, that nothing had been 
further from the intention of the British government than to violate 
the neutrality of the United States, or to give them cause of offence. 
He could also declare, in regard to himself personally, that he would 
not act in such a manner towards one of the weakest powers — not 
even towards Monaco — and certainly would not do so towards the 
great and powerful republic of the United States, for which he had 
ever entertained the warmest feelings of respect and friendship. 

I presume you may expect, ere long, to hear from Lord Clarendon, 
through a note addressed to Mr. Crampton, according to what he says 
is diplomatic usage. 

We afterwards had some conversation about the invasion of Ireland, 
which I have never treated seriously. In regard to the Kussian pri- 
vateer alleged to be fitting out at the port of New York, I told him 
that since our last conversation I had seen two gentlemen who had 
just arrived from New York, who assured me they would be likely to 
know or have heard of it were any such steamer building; and they 
treated the report to that effect on this side of the Atlantic as idle 
and unfounded. In reply, he informed me that the fact was substan- 
tiated, and the steamer described in a particular manner, which he 



278 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

detailed, by three depositions, which had been forwarded by the British 

consul at New York to Mr. Crampton, who had brought the subject 

to your notice, and you had promised to inquire into it. 

***** 

Yours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy, 
[Extract.] 

[No. 101.] Legation op the United States, 

London, November 9, 1855. 

Sir: I had an interview with Lord Clarendon on yesterday, by ap- 
pointment, and shall now report to you, as nearly as I can recollect 
it, our conversation. After the usual salutations, I said to him : 
" Your lordship, when we last parted, asked me to help you to keep 
the peace between the two countries, which I cordially promised to 
do ; and I have come here to-day to make a suggestion to you with 
this intent. 

' ' You have now learned the prompt and energetic action of the 
government of the United States in causing the seizure and examina- 
tion of the vessel at New York which you had learned was intended 
for a Bussian privateer. Upon this examination she has turned out 
to be the barque Maury, built for the China trade, and bound to 
Shanghae. The ten iron cannon in the hold and four on deck, to- 
gether with the other arms on board, were designed to furnish arms 
to the merchantmen in the Chinese seas, to enable them to defend 
themselves against the pirates, so numerous in that quarter. The 
time of her sailing had been announced for three weeks in five daily 
journals, and she was to take out four Christian missionaries. So 
satisfactory did the examination prove to be, that Mr. Barclay, the 
British consul, had himself assented to her discharge. 
$ " Your lordship stated to me at our last meeting that the reason 
why the British fleet had been sent to the vicinity of the United States 
was the information you had received that a Kussian privateer had 
been built in New York, and was about to leave that port to prey 
upon your commerce with Australia. You have now received the 
clearest evidence, not only that this was all a mistake, as I predicted 
at the time it would prove to be, but also that the government of the 
United States has acted with energy and good faith in promptly caus- 
ing the vessel to be seized and examined. Now, my lord, the cause 
having proved to be without foundation, the effect ought to cease, and 
I earnestly suggest to you the propriety of issuing an order to with- 
draw the fleet." 

"The Times accompanied the annunciation that this fleet had been 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 279 

sent, with the most insulting and offensive exposition of the reasons 
for this act, and several journals friendly to the present government 
followed in the same spirit. When we take into view the existing dif- 
ference between the two governments about enlistments, and the still 
more dangerous questions behind, concerning Central America — all 
of which are well known to the people of the United States — what 
will be the inference naturally drawn by them when the news shall 
first burst upon them ? Will it not be that this fleet has reference to 
these questions, and is intended as a menace ? I need not say what 
will be the effect on my countrymen. They well know that no reason 
ever existed, in point of fact, for apprehension on account of Eussian 
privateers, and still less, if that be possible, for an expedition to 
Ireland ; and they will not attribute the sending of the fleet to these 
causes. The President, in his message to Congress early in Decem- 
ber, will doubtless present to that body the present unsatisfactory 
condition of the Central American questions ; and it will require the 
cool and clear heads of the public men of both countries to prevent 
serious consequences from these questions. Now, it so happens that 
the news of the sending of the British fleet will arrive in the United 
States but a short time before the date of the message, and will 
almost necessarily be connected in public opinion with these danger- 
ous questions, thus rendering them more complicated. If you will at 
the present moment, and before we can hear from the United States, 
voluntarily withdraw your fleet, upon the principle that the clanger 
from Russian privateers, of which you had been informed, did not, in 
point of fact, exist, and at the same time do justice to the government 
of the United States for having so faithfully preserved its neutrality ; 
this would be to pour oil upon the troubled waters, and could not fail 
to produce the best results. You might address a note either to Mr. 
Crampton or myself, stating that the fleet had been withdrawn ; and 
I am persuaded that this act of justice would have a most happy 
effect." 

His lordship, in reply, said, in substance, (for I will not undertake 
to repeat his very words,) that he thanked me for my suggestion, and 
would take it into serious consideration ; but, of course, he could do 
nothing without consulting the cabinet. Of this, however, he could 
assure me most positively, as he had done at our former interview, 
that nothing could be further from their intention than any, even the 
most remote, idea of a menace in sending out the fleet. Immediately 
after our conversation on Thursday last, he had sent to the Admiralty 
and requested that orders might be issued that the vessels sent out 
should not go near the coasts of the United States. Sir Charles 
Wood and Admiral Berkeley had both informed him that * it was 
never their intention that they should approach our coasts, and he 
could assure me that none of these vessels would ever go " poking" 
about our ports. Besides, he said, Sir Charles Wood had informed 
him that but three vessels had been sent out — one to Bermuda, and 
the other two to Jamaica. [I observed this was a mistake, but I 
would not interrupt him.] He replied, this was the information he 
had received from Sir Charles. 



280 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



Lord Clarendon to Mr. Crampton. 

[No. 272.] Foreign Office. 

November 16, 1855. 

Sir : In my despatch to you, No. 250, of the 2d instant, I enclosed 
the copy of a despatch from Mr. Marcy, which had been read to me, 
and placed in my hands by Mr. Buchanan. 

Before I proceed to oifer any remarks upon this despatch, it will he 
proper to state that when it was read to me by Mr. Buchanan I had 
no cognizance of Mr. Marcy's despatch of the 15th of July to which 
it alludes, and of which a copy was also transmitted to you ; and upon 
my observing this to Mr. Buchanan, he said he had not thought it 
necessary to communicate it to me, as, before it had reached him, he 
had received my note of the 16th of July, which he thought would 
finally settle the question that had arisen between the two governments. 

Her Majesty's government shared the opinion of Mr. Buchanan. 
They did not doubt that the frank expression of their regret for any 
violation of the United States law, which, contrary to their instruc- 
tions, might have taken place, and of their determination to remove 
all cause for further complaint by putting an end to all proceedings 
for enlistment, would have satisfactorily and honorably terminated a 
difference between two governments whose duty it was to maintain 
the friendly relations which have hitherto, and to their great recipro- 
cal advantage, happily subsisted between Great Britain and the 
United States. But as this expectation has been disappointed, and as 
a. spirit altogether at variance with it has been manifested by the gov- 
ernment of the United States, her Majesty's government, while they 
fully appreciate the friendly motives which actuated Mr. Buchanan, 
are now disposed to regret that he withheld the despatch of Mr. 
Marcy, as it would have called their attention to proceedings against 
which the United States government thought itself called upon to 
remonstrate, and which would at once have been inquired into, as 
her Majesty's government, in a matter which concerned the law of 
the United States, were scrupulously desirous that no just cause for 
complaint should arise. 

This despatch, however, of which Mr. Buchanan has given me a 
copy, together with Mr. Marcy's despatch of the 13th of October, 
have now been considered with all the attention that is due to them ; 
and, in conveying to you the opinion of her Majesty's government, I 
shall endeavor to exclude from discussion the subjects which are for- 
eign to the question immediately at issue, and which might lead to 
irritation; and this course will be the more proper as her Majesty's 
government observe, with satisfaction, that Mr. Marcy's note of the 
13th October is not framed in the tone of hostility which characterized 
his note of the 5th of September to you. 

It appears that two distinct charges are made against the officers 
and agents of her Majesty's government : 

First. That they have within the United States territory infringed 
the United States law ; and, secondly, that they have violated the 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 281 

sovereign territorial rights of the United States by being engaged in 
"recruiting" for the British army within the United States territory. 

Now, with respect to both these charges, I have to observe that the 
information possessed by her Majesty's government is imperfect, and 
that none of a definite character has been supplied by the despatches 
of Mr. Marcy, inasmuch as no individual British officer or agent is 
named, and no particular fact or time or place is stated ; and it is 
therefore impossible at present to know either who is accused by Mr. 
Marcy^ or what is the charge he makes, or what is the evidence on 
which he intends to rely. 

Her Majesty's government have no means of knowing who are the 
persons really indicated by the general words ' c officers and agents of 
her Majesty's government ;" whether such persons as those who [have] 
been under trial are the only persons meant to be charged, or, if not, 
who else is to be included, or what evidence against them is relied 
upon by the United States government. 

It is true that you and her Majesty's consuls are personally charged 
in Mr. Marcy's note to you of the 5th of September ; but neither you 
nor they are alluded to in Mr. Marcy's despatch of October 13 to Mr. 
Buchanan, which might not unreasonably have been expected, if it 
really be the intention of the United States government to charge you 
or them with being " malefactors sheltered from conviction," (to use 
the official language of the United States Attorney General.) 

They must, therefore, request the United States government to 
make and establish more distinct charges, with proper specification, 
against particular individuals by name ; and that government will, I 
am confident, not deny the justice and the necessity of giving each 
person implicated the opportunity of knowing what is alleged against 
himself, and of dealing with the evidence by which the charge may 
be supported. 

I shall accordingly abstain from offering the remarks which a pe- 
rusal of the evidence at the recent trials and the character and con- 
duct of the witnesses have naturally suggested ; nor will I observe 
upon the temper and spirit in which the officers of the United States 
government have throughout proceeded, and which displayed their 
desire rather to influence the public mind against her Majesty's gov- 
ernment, than simply to prove the facts necessary to convict the ac- 
cused parties ; this tone and spirit being the more remarkable when 
it is remembered that the proceedings complained of had been for 
some time definitively abandoned, out of deference to the United States 
government, and that the question to be determined was the charac- 
ter and complexion of acts done many months previously, under a 
state of things no longer existing. 

With reference to the second charge made by Mr. Marcy — namely, 
that of " violating the sovereign territorial rights of the United States, 
by recruiting for the British army within their territories" — I have 
to observe, that apart from any municipal legislation in the United 
States on the subject of foreign enlistment, or in the entire absence of 
any such legislation, Great Britain, as a belligerent nation, would 
commit no violation of the " sovereign territorial rights of the United 
States" simply by enlisting as soldiers, within British territory, per- 



282 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

sons who might leave the United States territory in order so to en- 
list. The violation alleged is the recruiting within the United States : 
hut to assume that there was, in fact, any such " recruiting," (that 
is, hiring or retaining by British officers,) is to beg the question. 

It appears to her Majesty's government that, provided only no ac- 
tual "recruiting" (that is, enlisting or hiring) takes place within 
the United States, British officers who, within the United States ter- 
ritories, might point out the routes which intending recruits should 
follow, or explain to them the terms upon which they would be ac- 
cepted, or publish and proclaim such terms, or even defray their trav- 
elling expenses, or do similar acts, could not be justly charged with 
violating such sovereign territorial rights. It has been legally de- 
cided in the United States that the payment of the passage from that 
country of a man who desires to enlist in a foreign port, does not 
come within the neutrality law of the Unite 1 States, and that a per- 
son may go abroad, provided the enlistment be in a foreign place, 
not having accepted and exercised a commission. 

It would, indeed, be a violation of territorial rights to enlist, and 
organize, and trainmen as British soldiers within the United States — 
and whether or not this has been done by British authority is the 
question involved in the first of Mr. Marcy's charges — but it is de- 
cidedly no violation of such rights to persuade or to assist men merely 
to leave the United States territory and to go into British territory, 
in order, when they ariive there, either to be voluntarily enlisted in 
British service or not, at their own discretion. There can be no ques- 
tion that the men who went to Halifax were free, and not compelled 
to be soldiers on their arrival. Upwards of one hundred Irishmen in 
one body, for instance, if her Majesty's government are rightly in- 
formed, refused to enlist on arriving there, and said they came in 
order to work on a railway. They were, therefore, not enlisted, 
hired, or retained as soldiers in the United States : no attempt was 
made to enforce against them any such contract or engagement. 

Mr. Marcy cites no authority for the position he has assumed in re- 
lation to this particular doctrine of the effect of foreign enlistment 
on sovereign territorial rights ; but the practice of nations has been 
very generally adverse to the doctrine, as proved by the numerous in- 
stances in which foreign troops have been, and still are, raised and 
employed. 

It cannot, therefore, be said that Mr. Marcy's doctrine is in accord- 
ance with the general practice of nations ; and high authority might 
be quoted directly adverse to any such doctrine as applicable to free 
countries — " ubi civitas non career est." But even admitting the al- 
leged doctrine as to the bearing of the principle of territorial sov- 
ereignty, its application must obviously be subject to many limitations 
in practice. 

Her Majesty had (for instance) internationally an unquestionable 
right to recall to her standard displayed upon her own .territory those 
of her own subjects capable of bearing arms who might be transiently 
or temporarily resident in a foreign country, and her Majesty would 
not thereby incur any risk of violating the " territorial sovereignty" 
of such country. Again : in the case of political refugees driven 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 283 

from their own country, an essentially migratory class, owing a merely 
local and qualified allegiance to the United States, is it to be con- 
tended that to induce such persons by any fair means short of "hiring" 
or enlisting them to leave the United States in order to enrol them- 
selves on British territory as volunteers in a war in which many of 
them feel the strongest and most natural desire to engage, is to vio- 
late the territorial sovereignty of the United States ? 

It is, of course, competent to any nation to enact a municipal law, 
such as actually exists in many countries, forbidding its subjects to 
leave its territory, but in such cases "civitas career est;" and it may 
be the duty of other countries to abstain from actively assisting the 
captives to escape from the national prison in order to serve another 
master ; but the government of the United States has enacted no such 
law — it justly boasts of its complete freedom in this respect, u civi- 
tas non career est;" all residents therein, whether foreigners or citi- 
zens, are perfectly free to leave its territory without the permission of 
the government, at their own absolute discretion, and to enter the 
service of any other state when once within its frontier. To invite 
them or persuade them to do what is thus lawful can constitute no 
violation of the territorial rights, which the sovereign power has 
never claimed or exercised. 

It is moreover to be observed that in this case no United States 
citizens, as far as her Majesty's government are aware, were engaged; 
both those actually enlisted within the British North American prov- 
inces and those expected were, to the best of our belief, exclusively 
foreigners, and not citizens of the United States. 

Without entering further into the discussion of this peculiar doc- 
trine, I will only remark that, at all events, it was not proclaimed or 
insisted upon by the United States, either at the commencement of 
the war, or when the desire of her Majesty's government to raise a 
foreign legion was first published, or when a recruiting station was 
first opened at Halifax. 

The United States, therefore, although always and most properly 
insisting on their right and intention to punish violations of their 
municipal law, took no step to proclaim or vindicate the particular 
doctrine now set forth until a very late period of the discussion, and 
after the time for giving effect to it had gone by. The charge of 
"violation of sovereign territorial rights" cannot, therefore, in the 
opinion of her Majesty's government, be fairly urged as a separate 
and different charge from that of violation of the municipal law of 
the United States. But the municipal law was certainly not violated 
by the orders, nor, as far as they believe, by the officers of her Ma- 
jesty's government ; and her Majesty's government and her Majesty's 
minister at Washington gave reiterated orders to all concerned care- 
fully to abstain from such violation ; and if the British government 
did not purposely cause the United States law to be violated, then the 
territorial rights of the United States, whatever they may be, were 
not, as has been said, intentionally violated by Great Britain "as a 
nation," even if it should be shown that the municipal law of the 
Union was infringed. 

Before I conclude this despatch, it may be useful to place on record 



284 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

certain facts connected with the question of recruiting in North Amer- 
ica, the correctness of which will, I doubt not, be admitted by Mr. 
Marcy ; and I will observe — 

First : That the United States government were from the first per- 
fectly well aware that her Majesty's government were in want of re- 
cruits, and were desirous of raising a foreign legion. 

Secondly : That preparations were making to receive recruits in a 
British North American colony for such a legion. 

Thirdly : That her Majesty's government expected to receive recruits 
there for such a legion from the United States, although, whilst so 
doing, they were anxious not to violate the United States law. 

Fourthly : That many British subjects and foreigners in the United 
States were bona fide u volunteers," desirous, from various but natural 
and powerful motives, to enlist. Numerous offers to raise men within 
the United States were made, but were consistently and honorably re- 
fused by her Majesty's ministers and consuls, in order to avoid viola- 
ting the United States law. 

Fifthly : That Mr. Marcy was in confidential communication with 
you on the subject for months, without ever, that I am aware of, warn- 
ing you against attempting anything of the kind, or stating that the 
United States would resist or resent it, apart from any question of 
municipal law ; thus, in effect, acquiescing, and only insisting that 
the United States law should be respected. 

Sixthly : That as soon as it became apparent that the United States 
government was adverse to the scheme, and that it might lead to vio- 
lations of the United States law, the whole project was abandoned out 
of deference to the United States ; but this conclusive proof of the 
good faith and good will of her Majesty's government has not been 
noticed or appreciated by the government of the United States. 

Seventhly : That the whole question in dispute now turns, not on 
what is doing, or shall or may be done, by her Majesty's government, 
but on what was done many months ago, under a system which is not 
continuing nor about to be revived, and which has been voluntarily 
and definitively abandoned, in order to satisfy the United States, and 
to prevent the occurrence of any just ground for complaint. 

The foregoing facts and considerations, which demonstrate that no 
offence to the United States was offered or contemplated by her Ma- 
jesty's government, may, perhaps, have weight with Mr. Marcy, if 
the matter at issue is to be settled in a manner becoming the govern- 
ments of G-reat Britain and the United States, and with a deep sense 
of the responsibility which weighs on them to maintain uninterrupted 
and unshaken the relations of friendship which now exist between 
the two countries ; and her Majesty's government, fully reciprocating 
the feelings of the United States government expressed in Mr. Marcy' s 
despatch, with regard to the many ties and sympathies which connect 
together the people of the two countries, do not permit themselves to 
doubt that such further discussions as may take place on this question 
will be conducted in a spirit of conciliation. 

It only remains for me to state that no enlistment in the British 
service is valid without attestation ; and that, according to British 
laws, a recruit cannot be attested in a foreign country, nor even in 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 285 

the British colonies, without a specially delegated authority for that 
purpose. No binding contract could therefore he made with any man 
within the United States. Promises might he so made, hut any money 
given to men to enable them to repair to places beyond the United 
States territory for the purpose of being enlisted would be advanced 
at a risk. Nevertheless, if it can be shown that there are persons now 
in the foreign legion who have been enlisted or hired in violation of 
the United States law as well as of the British law, her Majesty's 
government will be prepared to offer them their discharge, and to 
give them a free passage back to the United States if they choose to 
return thither. 

You are instructed to read and give a copy of this despatch to Mr. 
Marcy. 

I am, &c, 

CLARENDON. 

John F. Crampton, Esq., &c, etc., &c. 



Mr. Marcy to Mr. Buchanan. 

[No. 130.] Department oj 1 State, 

Washington, December 28, 1855. 

Sir : I have received from Mr. Crampton, her Britannic Majesty's 
envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to this government, 
a despatch addressed to him by the Earl of Clarendon, her Majesty's 
principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, in reply to my des- 
patch to you of the 13th of October. 

This document has been carefully considered by the President, and 
I am directed to present to you his views thereon, for the purpose of 
having them laid before her Majesty's government. 

It is perceived with deep regret that there exists a very wide dif- 
ference of opinion between this government and that of Great Britain 
in regard* to the principle of law involved in the pending discussion, 
and a still wider difference, if possible, as to the material facts of the 
case. 

It is due alike to the serious importance of the question under con- 
sideration, and to the sincere respect entertained for the elevated char- 
acter and position of Lord Clarendon, that opinions and views so 
much in conflict with his should be not merely announced, but sus- 
tained. 

To do this I shall be obliged to occupy much space, and notice sev- 
eral delicate topics ; but in performing this unavoidable duty, I shall 
refrain, as far as practicable, from any allusion to subjects which may 
lead to irritation ;• and I hope to remove the impression from Lord 
Clarendon's mind that my previous despatches have manifested a 
"tone of hostility/' and have been framed in a spirit incompatible 
with the duty, which I feel as sensibly as he can, of maintaining 
friendly relations between the two countries. 

I am quite certain that Lord Clarendon is not aware of the serious 
importance which the United States attach to the question under dis- 



286 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

cussion ; otherwise, he ■would not have so harshly characterized the 
conduct of the United States officers on whom the duty to suppress 
recruiting for the British service was devolved ; nor would he have so 
freely arraigned the motives of this government for requiring some 
satisfaction for what it regards as a great national wrong. 

The variant views of the British government in relation to recruit- 
ing for its armies within the United States render the precise posi- 
tion it intends to maintain somewhat uncertain. 

To present the different aspects in which the two governments view 
the case, and to show the reasons for dissenting from some of the 
statements and the main conclusions contained in Lord Clarendon's 
despatch of the 16th of November, a recurrence to the prominent 
points appears to be indispensable. 

The claim put forth in that despatch, of the right of a foreign bel- 
ligerent power to resort to the territories of a neutral state to recruit 
its armies, and for that purpose to employ such means as he justifies, 
raises one of the gravest international questions which can come under 
consideration. If that right be conceded, then any foreign power can 
justifiably resort to measures for recruiting its armies within the 
jurisdiction of this country almost coextensive with those which can 
be employed by this government. 

Before adverting to the conduct of the officers and agents of her 
Majesty's government in recruiting within the territories of the United 
States, it will be necessary, not only to define our own rights, but to 
ascertain the precise limits of British pretensions. 

After the debatable ground shall be clearly ascertained, the range 
of discussion will, it is hoped, be reduced to narrower limits, and the 
probability of an amicable adjustment of the present difficulties in- 
creased. 

When the Parliament of Great Britain authorized foreign enlist- 
ments, there was no apprehension here that the United States would 
be resorted to for that purpose. This government had what was re- 
garded as the assurance of her Majesty's government that enlistments 
in this country would not be attempted by British authority, unless 
notice was given and its consent obtained. 

While the bill for foreign enlistments was under consideration in 
Parliament, her Majesty's ministers were warned against resorting to 
a measure which would be dangerous to peaceful relations with other 
powers. 

When the Duke of Newcastle, her Majesty's secretary of war, and 
a member of the cabinet, introduced that bill into the House of Lords, 
he was asked to state from what country the foreign legion was to be 
obtained, and he replied that the question could not be answered until 
communications were had with foreign governments. No such com- 
munication has ever been made to this government ; but, on the con- 
trary, much was done here, after the plan of recruitment was in full 
operation, to allay the suspicion that the British government was in 
anywise connected with it. 

After her Majesty's ministers came to the determination to raise re- 
cruits within the United States, it is much to be regretted that their 
purpose, together with the instructions to their agents* was not made 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 287 

known to this government. There is some vague language used in 
the last despatch of Lord Clarendon, which seems to imply that this 
had heen done ; hut it is not positively asserted, nor could it be. The 
first intimation which reached this government that recruiting within 
the United States had the sanction of British authority was derived 
from the proceedings which had taken place in executing the plan of 
enlistment. The first step taken by the British government, or any 
of its officers, in communicating with that of the United States on the 
subject, was one which implied an assurance that the British govern- 
ment not only had no connexion with, but actually discountenanced, 
the scheme of recruiting for the British army, although it subse- 
quently appeared that the proceedings were supervised by British 
officers, and conducted by their agents. This assurance was derived 
from a letter dated the 22d of March, addressed by Mr. Crampton to 
the British consul at New York, and about that time read to me. I 
shall have occasion hereafter to bring that letter under particular con- 
sideration. 

Without any notification from the British government of such an 
intention, it would have been extremely illiberal to indulge a suspi- 
cion that her Majesty's ministers or officers had been so unmindful of 
what was due to courtesy as to authorize, or even countenance, the un- 
friendly procedure of sending agents into the United States to raise 
recruits for the British army. The offenders against the laws of the 
United States were, therefore, treated as individuals unconnected with 
the British government, and unsustained by its authority or means ; 
but the judicial proceedings against them soon disclosed facts which 
established a complicity of her Majesty's officers in the British prov- 
inces in this scheme of recruiting within the United States. 

The next step in the progress of events was the delivery in May, at 
the Department of State, of a copy of a despatch from Lord Clarendon 
to Mr. Crampton, dated the 12th of April last, relating to that sub- 
ject. This paper demands special attention. It conveyed the first 
distinct intimation that her Majesty's ministers had given instruc- 
tions for enlistments in the United States, together with the fact that 
to the British minister, Mr. Crampton, had been assigned some duty 
in that service. Lord Clarendon says to Mr. Crampton in that des- 
patch: " I entirely approve of your proceedings, as reported in your 
despatch No. 57, of the 12th ult., with respect to the proposed enlist- 
ment, in the Queen's service, of foreigners and British subjects in the 
United States." Thus it was brought to light that the British cabi- 
net had proposed enlistments in the United States, and had employed 
her Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
accredited to this government to aid in the undertaking. When this 
despatch was received at this department, Mr. Crampton was in the 
British provinces. It had direct reference to the enlistment, for the 
Queen's service, of foreigners and British subjects in the United 
States. The object to be accomplished was against law ; and it is 
difficult to conceive what one step Mr. Crampton could have taken 
in » furtherance of it, without putting at defiance an act of Congress 
which prohibits, in explicit terms and under heavy penalties, such a 
proceeding. 



288 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Being satisfied that the government of Great Britain reciprocated 
our friendly sentiments, and that it would not deliberately and de- 
signedly authorize proceedings within the jurisdiction of the United 
States in contravention of their laws, this government was disposed 
to believe that there had been some strange misapprehension on the 
subject by her Majesty's cabinet, and that the inadvertent misstep 
would be retraced as soon as it was perceived, with such explana- 
tions to this government as the circumstances of the case seemed to 
require. 

The closing part of the despatch alluded to was interpreted as in- 
dicating a consciousness that the British ministers, in authorizing en- 
listments in the United States, had acted at first in utter ignorance 
of the laws of this country.; for Lord Clarendon says: " The law of 
the United States with respect to. enlistments, however conducted, is 
not only very just but very stringent, according to the report which 
is enclosed in your [Mr. Crampton's] despatch, and her Majesty's 
government would on no account run any risk of infringing this law 
of the United States." But, as that risk would be inevitably run if 
the design should be pursued, it was expected that the original 
scheme of recruiting within the United States would be promptly and 
wholly abandoned. 

After the lapse of some time, this government discovered that it 
had looked with a mistaken confidence to a result so much desired. 
Throughout the months of April, May, and June, the business of 
recruitment proceeded upon a wider field, and with increased vigor ; 
it was extended to regions which it had not hitherto reached ; the 
efforts of our magistrates and tribunals scarcely checked, but could 
not arrest it ; and proofs were daily brought out which show that the 
recruiting business derived vitality and energy from the countenance 
and means afforded by her Majesty's officers resident in the United 
States and in the adjoining British provinces. 

To arrest the evil, an appeal to the British government, unpleasant 
as such a step was, became necessary, and in the early part of June 
you were directed by the President to present the case to the notice of 
the Earl of Clarendon. In your note to Lord Clarendon of the 6th of 
July, the case is clearly and ably laid before his lordship, and he is 
assured that this government had reason to believe, and did believe, 
that British officers were engaged in carrying out a scheme of recruit- 
ing for the British army within the United States in contravention of 
their laws and sovereign rights ; and you were instructed to ascertain 
from the British government how far these officers had act ed with or 
without its approbation, and what measures, if any, had been taken 
to restrain their unjustifiable conduct. Lord Clarendon was assured 
that the President would be gratified to learn that her Majesty's gov- 
ernment had not authorized the proceedings complained of; that it 
had condemned the conduct of its officials engaged therein ; had visited 
them with its marked displeasure, and taken measures to arrest the 
proceedings complained of. 

The reply to this note deserves particular notice on several accounts, 
but especially for the difference between it and the despatch of the 
16th of November, now under consideration. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 289 

In the note of the 16th of July Lord Clarendon seems to admit 
that the restraining effect of the law of the United States in regard 
to recruiting is such as this government asserts it to he ; hut, by his 
exposition of that law in his despatch of the 16th of November, it is 
hereffc of the very stringent character he had hefore ascribed to it, and 
it is now so construed hy him as to afford justification for such acts 
as, in his former note, he conceded to he illegal. 

In the note to you of July, the British government only claimed 
the right to make generally known to British subjects and foreigners 
in the United States, who wished to enter her Majesty's service and 
take part in the war, its desire to accept these volunteers, and to re- 
ceive such as should present themselves at an appointed place in one 
of the British provinces. 

That Lord Clarendon intended, in his note of the 16th July, to 
exclude all pretension to a right to publish handbills offering in- 
ducements, and to send agents into the United States for recruiting 
purposes, is shown by the following passage : "It can scarcely be 
matter of surprise that, when it became known that her Majesty's 
government was prepared to accept these voluntary offers, many per- 
sons, in various quarters, should give themselves out as agents em- 
ployed by the British government, in the hope of earning reward by 
promoting, though on their own responsibility, an object which they 
were aware was favorably looked upon by the British government. 
Her Majesty's government do not deny that the acts and advertise- 
ments of these self-constituted and unauthorized agents were, in 
many instances, undoubtedly violations of the laws of the United 
States ; but such persons had no authority whatever for their proceed- 
ings from any British agents, by all of whom they were promptly 
and unequivocally disavowed." 

These positions taken by the Earl of Clarendon brought the mat- 
ter to a definite point. This government took issue upon his allega- 
tion that the persons engaged in recruiting in the United States were 
self-constituted, unauthorized agents, whose acts had been disavowed ; 
and it maintained, on the contrary, that the persons performing them 
were authorized agents, and had embarked in that service in conse- 
quence of inducements, stronger than the mere hope of uncertain 
reward, held out to them by British officers ; that they were prom- 
ised commissions in the British army, and some of them were 
actually received and treated as fellow-officers, and as such were paid 
for their services, received instructions from her Majesty's servants 
for the guidance of their conduct while within the United States, and 
were furnished in the same way with abundant funds for carrying on 
their recruiting operations in this country. The persons engaged in 
the United States in recruiting were, in fact, the agents and instru- 
ments of eminent British functionaries resident here and in the neigh- 
boring British provinces. The numerous judicial investigations and 
trials have brought out a mass of testimony too strong to be resisted, 
implicating these functionaries, and sustaining the foregoing allega- 
tions. 

When this state of the case was presented to Lord Clarendon, with 
the designation by name of some of the higher British officers, with 
19 a 



230 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

the assurance by the President that the information he possessed 
did not allow him to doubt their participation in the offence against 
the laws and sovereign rights of the United States, his lordship did 
not then call for the evidence, as he has since done, but disposed of it 
by the general declaration "that even the extraordinary measures 
which have been adopted in various parts of the Union to obtain evi- 
dence against her Majesty's servants, or their agents, by practices 
sometimes resorted to under despotic institutions, but which are dis- 
dained by all free and enlightened governments, will fail to establish 
any well-founded charge against her Majesty's servants." 

It is presumed that his lordship's misapprehension as to the char- 
acter of the evidence, and the means by which it was obtained, has 
been since corrected ; because in his last note he not only calls for the 
names of the British officers implicated, (though some of them had 
been before given,) and the specific charges against them, but for a 
particular statement of the evidence by which these charges are sus- 
tained, professing to have very imperfect information in regard to the 
matters complained of, although full four months had passed since 
his attention was first called to them by this government. 

The exposition he has given to the statute of the United States 
against recruiting, and the restrictions he has placed upon our sover- 
eign rights, show that his views on that subject have been greatly 
modified since his first despatch was written. 

As that law is now construed by him, scarcely any evidence, how- 
ever obtained, or whatever be its character, will be sufficient to im- 
plicate any one in the offence of recruiting within the United States. 

If the views of Lord Clarendon as to that law and the sovereign 
rights of the United States can be maintained, the territories of this 
country are open, almost without restriction, to the recruiting opera- 
tions of all nations, and for that purpose any foreign power may sus- 
tain a vigorous competition with this government upon its own soil. 

This government does not contest Lord Clarendon's two proposi- 
tions in respect to the sovereign rights of the United States — first, 
that, in the absence of municipal law, Great Britain may enlist, hire, 
or engage, as soldiers, within the British territory, persons who have 
left the United States for that purpose ; (this proposition is, however, 
to be understood as not applying to persons who have been enticed 
away from this country by tempting offers of reward, such as com- 
missions in the British army, high wages, liberal bounties, pensions, 
and portions of the royal domain, urged on them while within the 
United States, by the officers and agents of her Majesty's govern- 
ment ;) and secondly, no foreign power has a right to "enlist and 
organize and train men as British soldiers within the United States." 
The right to do this Lord Clarendon does not claim for his govern- 
ment ; and whether the British officers have done so or not, is, as he 
appears to understand the case, the only question at issue, so far as 
international rights are involved, between the two countries. 

In his view of the question as to the rights of territory, irrespective 
of municipal law, Lord Clarendon is understood to maintain that her 
Majesty's government may authorize agents to do anything within 
the United States, short of enlisting, and organizing, and training 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 291 

men as soldiers for the British, army, with perfect respect to the sove-, 
reign rights of this country. 

This proposition is exactly the reverse of that maintained by this 
government, which holds that no foreign power whatever has the 
right to do either of the specified acts without its consent. No for- 
eign power can, by its agents or officers, lawfully enter the territory 
of another to enlist soldiers for its service, or organize or train them 
therein, or even entice persons away in order to be enlisted, without 
express permission. 

This, as a rule of international law, was considered so well settled 
that it was not deemed necessary to invoke the authority of publicists 
to support it. I am not aware that any modern writer on interna- 
tional law has questioned its soundness. As this important principle 
is controverted by Lord Clarendon, and as its maintenance is fatal to 
his defence of British recruiting here, I propose to establish it by a 
reference to a few elementary writers of eminence upon the law of 
nations : 

" Since a right of raising soldiers is a right of majesty which can- 
not be violated by a foreign nation, it is not permitted to raise sol- 
diers on the territory of another without the consent of its sove- 
reign." — Wolfius. 

Vattel says, that "the man who undertakes to enlist soldiers in a, 
foreign country without the sovereign's permission, and, in general,, 
whoever entices away the subjects of another State, violates one of the- 
most sacred rights of the prince and the nation." He designates the- 
crime by harsher names than I choose to use, which, as he says, " is- 
punished with the utmost severity in every well-regulated state."" 
Vattel further observes, that " it is not presumed that their sovereign 
has ordered them [foreign recruiters] to commit a crime ; and sup- 
posing, even, that they had received such an order, they ought not to- 
have obeyed it ; their sovereign having no right to command what is: 
contrary to the law of nature." 

Hautefeuille, a modern French author of much repute, regards; 
permission (and acquiescence implies permission) by a neutral power 
to one belligerent, though extended to both, to raise recruits, in its< 
territories, unless it was allowed in peace, to be an act of bad faith, 
which compromits its neutrality. 

# There can be no well-founded distinction, in the rule of interna- 
tional law, between raising soldiers for a belligerent's army and' 
sailors for its navy within a neutral country. Hautefeuille says, a tha- 
neutral sovereign is under obligation to prohibit and prevent all levy- 
ing of sailors upon its territory for the service of the belligerents." 
Again he says,, "the neutral must prohibit, in an absolute manner, 
the levying of sailors upon its territory to complete a ship's company 
reduced by combat or any other cause." 

" The prohibitions to engage sailors on the territory of a pacific 
prince must extend to foreigners who are found in the ports of his 
jurisdiction, and even to those who belong to the belligerent nation 
owning the vessel that wishes to complete its crew, or ship's com- 
pany." 

Reference to other writers might be made to sustain the position 



292 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

contended for by this government, and to overthrow that advanced by 
Lord Clarendon, but the authority of those presented is deemed suffi- 
cient for that purpose. 

This view of the law on the subject was presented to Parliament 
when the foreign-enlistment bill was under debate. On that occasion 
Lord Stanley said that the object proposed by it was " to resort to a 
practice which, for the last hundred years, the opinions of European 
statesmen had not hesitated to condemn." 

This is the doctrine on the subject of recruiting soldiers and sailors 
by belligerents on neutral soil, which this government maintains, and 
insists upon applying to the present case. 

There is another view of territorial rights which Lord Clarendon has 
not distinctly brought out, but which has a direct bearing upon the 
question under consideration. The extent of a nation's sovereign 
right depends, in some measure, upon its municipal laws. Other 
powers are bound, not only to abstain from violating such laws, but 
to respect the policy of them. The British officers who set in opera- 
tion the scheme for recruiting in this country, which resulted in 
numerous acts against its law, being beyond its jurisdiction, did not, 
by such a proceeding, expose themselves to the penalties denounced 
by that law ; but they violated its policy, and their acts, if done in 
obedience to the orders of their government, or in carrying out its 
purposes, involved that government in responsibility for their con- 
duct. It is the sovereign right of every independent state, that all 
foreign powers shall abstain from authorizing or instigating their 
officers or agents to do that, even within their own dominions, which 
would, as a natural or very probable consequence, lead to the contra- 
vention of the municipal laws of such state. Some of the proceed- 
ings by British officers and agents, in regard to recruiting within the 
United States, though conducted beyond the limits thereof, were con- 
sidered by this government an infringement of their sovereign rights, 
and constituted one ground of remonstrance to her Majesty's govern- 
ment. 

But Lord Clarendon's exposition of the municipal law of the United 
States, in respect to recruiting therein, has created much more sur- 
prise than the restrictions he has laid on the sovereign rights of this 
country. 

If I do not misconceive his meaning, Lord Clarendon's interpreta- 
tion nearly annuls the clause in the act of Congress which prohibits 
enlisting within the United States for foreign service, and thus leaves 
to British officers and agents full liberty to do almost anything for 
that purpose. 

He says ' ' that no enlistment in the British service is valid without 
attestation, and that, according to British laws, a recruit cannot be 
attested in a foreign country, nor even in the British colonies, without 
a specially-delegated authority for that purpose." 

The other provisions of the law, which forbid hiring or retaining 
persons within the United States to go beyond the limits thereof, for 
the purpose of enlisting in foreign service, are reduced to the same 
imbecility by a similar course of reasoning. Lord Clarendon says : 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 293 

cc No "binding contract could, therefore, be made with any man within 
the United S'cates ; promises might he so made, hut any money given 
to men to enable them to repair to places beyond the United States 
territory for the purpose of being enlisted, would be advanced at a 
risk." 

In order to prevent misconception as to Lord Clarendon's views on 
this subject, and to show that the inferences here deduced from them 
are correct, I add another extract from his despatch of the 16th of 
November : 

" There can be no question that the men who went to Halifax were 
free, and not compelled to be soldiers on their arrival. Upwards of 
one hundred Irishmen in one body, for instance, if her Majesty's 
government are rightly informed, refused to enlist on arriving there, 
and said they came in order to work on a railway. They were there- 
fore not enlisted, hired, or retained, as soldiers in the United States : 
no attempt was made to enforce against them any such contract or 
engagement." 

Lord Clarendon, it is true, uses language in other parts of that 
despatch which seems to admit that enlisting into foreign military 
service within the United States, or hiring or retaining persons to 
leave the United States to enlist into such service, would be a viola- 
tion of the United States neutrality law ; but this admission amounts 
to nothing, when taken in connexion with his definition of the terms 
enlisting, hiring, or retaining. In his view, as I understand it, each 
act must be the result. of a valid contract. If the persons are not 
bound, when they have left the United States, to perfect their enlist- 
ment, then there has been no violation of the United States law. 
Such a contract made in the United States, being expressly prohibited 
by law, would, of course, be void. I think this conclusion is fairly 
deduced from Lord Clarendon's language ; or rather is his own con- 
clusion, stated by him in a different manner. 

This government cannot concur in these views. They deprive the 
law of the United States of all stringency, and render it a dead letter. 
The earlier opinion of Lord Clarendon in regard to that law is the 
one which this government strenuously maintains. 

In his despatch of the 12th of April, to which I have already re- 
ferred, he admits "that the law of the United States with respect to 
enlistment, however conducted, is not only very just, but very strin- 
gent ;" but, as I understand his latter opinion, the law imposed very 
little restraint upon the British officers and agents who embarked in 
the scheme of recruiting in this country ; it left them with all the 
liberty they had occasion to use for their purpose ; they could pene- 
trate every part of the country ; open rendezvous in any city ; pub- 
lish handbills, ornamented with the emblem of England's royalty, 
presenting every inducement for enlisting which a United States 
officer engaged in recruiting troops for his own government could 
offer ; and yet, in doing all these things, they would comply with the 
stringent instructions — so often repeated to them, and now so much 
relied on for their justification — not to violate the United States law 
of neutrality. 

Under the construction given by her Majesty's government to that 



294 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

law, the injunction not to violate it could nave had very little signifi- 
cance, and is not admitted by this government as an available excuse 
for what was done by her Majesty's officers and agents. 

After the most deliberate and respectful consideration of Lord Clar- 
endon's views, in his despatch of the 16th of November, as to the 
sovereign rights of the United States, the effect of their neutrality law, 
and the conduct of the British officers and agents in carrying out the 
scheme of recruiting, this government is constrained to differ most 
widely from them all. 

It cannot but regard the original design, which had the sanction of 
the British cabinet, as a dangerous measure, which should not have 
been adventured on without the consent of this government. The 
scheme for carrying out that design, which, it is presumed, was devised 
in the United States or the British provinces, was framed in an utter 
disregard of the act of Congress, and almost every step in the pro- 
gress of executing it was attended by the transgression of that law. 

The reasons offered by Lord Clarendon for not having acted, on the 
complaint of this government, against the British officers who were 
engaged in recruiting within the United States, and the precedent 
condition to be performed before that complaint will be attended to, 
deserve particular consideration. Lord Clarendon says " they (her 
Majesty's ministers) must, therefore, request the United States gov- 
ernment to make and establish more distinct charges, with proper 
specifications against particular individuals by name ; and that gov- 
ernment will, I am confident, not deny the justice and the necessity 
of giving each person implicated the opportunity of knowing what is 
alleged against himself, and of dealing with the evidence by which 
the charge may be supported." 

In your note to Lord Clarendon of the 6th of July, the charges, as 
well as the designation of persons, were less distinctly presented than 
in the despatches subsequently laid before her Majesty's government ; 
yet in Lord Clarendon's reply to that note he did not object to the 
charges for being indefinite, or to the designation of the persons im- 
plicated for uncertainty. He did not deny that the United States law 
had been violated, but insisted that it had been done by self-consti- 
tuted and unauthorized persons, for whose acts British officers were 
not responsible. 

In my despatch of the 5th of September, addressed to Mr. Cramp- 
ton, the charges were repeated with more distinctness, and Mr. 
Crampton himself and Sir Gaspard le Marchant were both named. 

Lord Clarendon appears to have understood that her Majesty's con- 
suls in some of the cities of the Union were included in the charge 
against British officers resident within the United States. Nothing 
was said in Lord Clarendon's reply to my despatch of the 5th Sep- 
tember, concerning his imperfect information on the subject, or his 
uncertainty as to the persons complained of ; nor did he then call for 
the evidence by which the participation of the British officials in the 
infraction of the law of the United States was to be established ; but 
he set aside the whole of the evidence by the sweeping allegation, 
that the practices resorted to for obtaining it rendered it incompetent 
"toestablish any well-founded charge against her Majesty's servants." 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 295 

The ground taken in July — that the persons engaged in recruiting, 
who had violated the law of the United States, were self-constituted 
and unauthorized agents — is abandoned in his despatch of November. 
In the latter it is not denied that these persons have acted under the 
authority of the British government ; hut her Majesty's ministers now 
propose to give their attention to the demand of this government for 
redress, if it will make and establish more distinct charges, with 
proper specifications, against particular individuals by name. Quite 
as much, and, indeed, more than is usual, has been done in this case, 
in 'specifying charges and indicating the persons implicated. The 
despatches from this government, in the possession of the British min- 
isters, made such disclosures as to the infringement of the law and 
rights of the United States, and as to the British officers and agents 
concerned therein, as called for a full investigation of the subject by 
her Majesty's government. Such an investigation on its part was, in 
the opinion of the United States, due to the friendly relations of the 
two countries, and would have been in strict conformity to established 
usage ; but that government has remained apparently inactive, and 
is, it seems, disposed so to remain, until the American Secretary of 
State shall name the individual persons accused, describe the particu- 
lar acts performed by each, with specification of time, place, and the 
evidence relied on to sustain the charges ; until the proceedings shall 
assume, as it were, the form, and be conducted by the legal rules of a 
criminal trial, in which the government of the United States is to 
present itself as the prosecutor, and the accused as the defendants. 

It is believed that such a course is unprecedented in diplomacy, and 
is a dangerous departure from that hitherto pursued in similar cases. 
If generally adopted, it would introduce a new element of discord into 
international intercourse, which could not fail to disturb the peace of 
nations, and would inevitably lead to a protracted controversy, en- 
gendering" at each step in its progress hostile feeling between the 
parties. 

Though the example of this government may not be much regarded, 
I will refer to an instance of a recent date, in a matter of less grave 
importance, but of similar character to that under discussion, as il- 
lustrating the course which, in the opinion of this government, should 
have been pursued in this case. Not long since her Majesty's minis- 
ter, Mr. Crampton, represented to this government that the barque 
Maury was being fitted out in the port of New York as a privateer 
to depredate upon the commerce of the allies. The evidence, if it 
could be called such, to support the charge, consisted of affidavits de- 
tailing loose rumors, and some circumstances about her equipment, 
which justified a bare suspicion of an illegal purpose. If there could 
be a case which would warrant the course suggested by her Majesty's 
ministers in respect to the complaint of this government against 
British recruitments within the United States, it would be that of the 
barque Maury ; but the President, without the slightest hesitation or 
delay, ordered proceedings to be instituted against that vessel and 
against all persons who should be found to be implicated. All the 
alleged causes of suspicion were immediately investigated, and the 



296 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

result, which showed the utter groundlessness of the charges, was 
promptly communicated to her Majesty's government. 

If this government, acting upon the rule now prescribed in the case 
of British recruitments in this country, had replied to that of Great 
Britain, on the complaint against the barque Maury, that inasmuch 
as Mr. Crampton had not made any definite charge ; had not named 
the persons accused, with a precise statement of their acts or when and 
where done, or produced the evidence on which he intended to rely to 
support his allegations, so that the persons concerned might have an 
opportunity to deal with it, nothing would he done, no step would be 
taken, until these preliminary matters should have been attended to: 
would such a reply in the case of the Maury have been what her Ma- 
jesty's ministers might have expected? would it have been deemed 
courteous or friendly to the British government ? 

Lord Clarendon may be well assured that such a reply, in the case 
of the Maury, would have been quite as satisfactory to her Majesty's 
government as is his reply to this government in relation to its re- 
monstrances and complaint against British recruitments within the 
United States. 

Until this government was apprized by Lord Clarendon's despatch 
of the 16th of November of the position adverted to in regard to its 
complaint with reference to that proceeding, it indulged a confident 
expectation that her Majesty's ministers would take the usual course 
in such cases. The grounds of the complaint were fully disclosed ; 
the offence clearly stated ; some of the British officers named, and 
others, with more than usual precision, indicated. Sufficient informa- 
tion was given to direct their inquiries, but her Majesty's government 
has refused to do more than offer to pass on the issues which may be 
made between this government and those officers, after the pleadings 
and proofs are laid before them, as prescribed in Lord Clarendon's 
despatch. 

For most controlling reasons, which, on reflection, will readily oc- 
cur to Lord Clarendon, this process of litigating the case is declined. 

So far as respects the British officers and agents, whose acts in car- 
rying out the project of recruiting in disregard of law were performed 
beyond the limits of the United States ; and, also, those persons who 
acted within those limits, but have since left the country, nothing 
further remains to be done. This result is deeply regretted : the 
sense of wrong which led this government most reluctantly to present 
their conduct to the consideration oi her Majesty's government, as a 
violation of the law and rights of the United States, survives the 
hope of redress. 

Before I present the President's views in respect to other British 
functionaries who are implicated, and who now hold official positions 
here by the consent of the Executive, it seems to be proper that other 
parts of the despatch of the 16th of November should be particularly 
noticed. 

In "that despatch Lord Clarendon has subjected to unfair suspicion 
the purpose of this government in seeking redress, and insisting upon 
it after the proceedings complained of have ceased, and, as he alleges, 
by the interposition of the British government. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 297 

The circumstances which led to the abandonment of the recruiting 
scheme will be adverted to hereafter. • 

This act is regarded by her Majesty's government as a favor for 
which the United States are not sufficiently grateful. If it be a favor, 
then the recruiting, carried on as it was by British authority in the 
United States, was the exercise of a right. The application was made 
to her Majesty's government to discontinue recruiting by its officers 
because it was a national offence. This government cannot receive 
the mere suspension of wrong-doing, even if unintentional, as a favor ; 
and consequently does not consider Lord Clarendon's reflection upon 
it for not so receiving it as at all deserved. As the proceedings for 
raising recruits for the British service in this country resulted from 
instructions to her Majesty's officers here and in the British provinces, 
issued by the ministers of the crown for that express purpose, the or- 
der to discontinue them is regarded as a mere act of justice, but in no 
respect a satisfaction for a past injury. 

This government asked, as a part of the satisfaction due to it from 
Great Britain, that the men who had been enticed, contrary to law, 
from the United States into the British provinces, and there enlisted 
into her Majesty's service, should be discharged. A casual reading 
of Lord Clarendon's despatch of the 16th of November may convey 
an impression that this demand has been acceded to ; but such is not 
its true import. The language of that despatch is as follows : "If 
it can be shown that there are persons now in the foreign legion who 
have been enlisted, or hired, in violation of the United States law, as 
well as of British law, her Majesty's government will be prepared to 
offer them their discharge." The offer is not to discharge them if it 
be shown that they were enlisted or hired in violation of the law of 
the United States. That fact would be of no avail, unless it were 
shown that they were also enlisted or hired in violation of British 
law. This is no concession whatever to the government of the United 
States ; for, if the men were enlisted or hired contrary to the law of 
Great Britain, no antecedent transaction within the United States 
would strengthen their just claim to be discharged. The single fact 
of having been enlisted or hired in violation of the United States law 
would not be available under this offer, unless the further fact be 
shown that the enlistment was also in violation of the British law. 

Notwithstanding the illegal means which were used to entice or de- 
coy them to leave the United States for the purpose of being enlisted 
into the British foreign legion, their subsequent enlistment in the 
British provinces would be valid according to the British law. Under 
this offer by Lord Clarendon, probably not one of the many hundred 
men who were induced, contrary to law, to leave the United States 
and to go to the British provinces, and were there enlisted, could ob- 
tain his discharge, either on his own application or on that of this 
government. This offer of her Majesty's minister does not, there- 
lore, in any respect, meet the demand of this government. 

Lord Clarendon has placed on record "certain facts" — seven in 
number — the correctness of which he says he does not doubt will be 
admitted by me. After duly considering them, I am constrained to 
say there is scarcely one of them, bearing on the merits of the case 



298 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

under discussion, which I can admit without essential modifications. 
Some of them I shall make 'the subject of remark. One of these 
alleged facts, or rather statements, which I cannot omit to notice, is, 
"that as soon as it became apparent that the United States govern- 
ment was averse to the scheme, and that it might lead to violations 
of the United States law, the project was abandoned out of deference 
to the United States;" and he adds an expression of regret that 
"this proof of good faith and good will of her Majesty's government 
has not been noticed or appreciated by the government of the United 
States." 

If the fact on which Lord Clarendon relies for the proof of good 
faith and good will shall be shown to be essentially different from 
what he conceives it to be, he will understand the cause why this 
government does not appreciate it as he does. 

In a question of this kind, dates are important. When did it be- 
come apparent that the United States government was averse to the 
recruiting scheme, and how soon thereafter was it abandoned ? 

I hope to be able to convince Lord Clarendon that they were not 
contemporaneous events ; that far the greatest number of objectionable 
acts committed by the British officers was performed long after this 
government had, in the most public and emphatic manner, reprobated 
the recruiting project ; after prosecutions had been pending for months 
against the agents of British officers, with the full knowledge of these 
officers, and also, as it was fair to presume, with the knowledge of 
their government. 

Mr. Crampton's intercourse with these recruiting agents com- 
menced in January. On the 4th of February he notified Strobel and 
Hertz, by a note addressed to each, that he was then able to give 
them precise instructions on the subject alluded to in a previous per- 
sonal interview ; and there can be no doubt that the subject alluded 
to was, recruiting within the United States. That scheme did not 
significantly develop itself in our principal cities until the month of 
March. Immediately thereupon, the United States government mani- 
fested the most decided, unequivocal, and public demonstration of 
averseness and resistance to it. Their attorney at New York was in- 
structed to suppress enlistment in that city, and prosecute those en- 
gaged in it. 

On the 23d of March he called upon the United States marshal for 
his assistance and co-operation, and addressed to that officer a letter 
containing a copy of the United States law against foreign recruiting 
within their jurisdiction, stating that "the government is determined 
to execute the laws to their fullest extent." In that letter he em- 
ployed the following language : "I wish you to use such means as 
may be at your command to prevent any violations of the laws of the 
United States which are passed to preserve our neutrality." 

On the succeeding day this letter was published in the journals of 
the city of New York of the widest circulation, and shortly thereafter 
in the "Washington Union," and throughout the country. 

Numerous arrests of persons charged with enlisting men for the 
British service were made in March : their examinations before the 
magistrates were published at that time in the newspapers of the 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 299 

country ; their cases were laid before grand juries, and indictments 
found against them. Not only in New York, but at Boston, Phila- 
delphia, and other places, the most vigorous efforts were publicly made 
by the federal officers, acting under instructions of the United States 
government, to arrest these recruitments for the British service and 
bring the offenders to justice. No local transaction was ever more 
generally known or more freely animadverted on. It provoked much 
excitement against the persons engaged in it ; and had it then been 
known that they were in fact employed by officers in eminent military 
and civil positions in her Majesty's service, under instructions from 
their government, it might have been difficult to restrain public in- 
dignation within proper limits. 

The landing of the " first instalment of the foreign legion," as 
it was called, from the United States at Halifax, was chronicled with 
much exuberance of joy in the Halifax Journal of the 2d of April. 
As that is a British journal, in the interest of her Majesty's govern- 
ment, and published where Sir G-aspard le Marchant, the governor of 
Nova Scotia, who is implicated in the scheme of recruiting, resides, 
and where the main depot for receiving the men thus enlisted was 
situated, I will make one or two extracts from its article of the 2d of 
April : 

" The brig America arrived from Boston on Friday, with the first 
instalment of troops for the foreign legion, amounting to seventy ; 
most of them are Hungarians and Germans. They were landed at 
the Queen's wharf, and marched up to the military hospital, followed 
by an immense throng of citizens, who were anxious to have a peep 
at them." 

For the purpose of showing that the active opposition of this gov- 
ernment to the enlistment scheme at that early day was notorious, 
not only through the length and breadth of this country, but in her 
Majesty's North American provinces, and to the British officials who 
had set the scheme on foot, and were superintending its execution, I 
direct attention to the extract from the same article in the Halifax 
Journal which contained the foregoing announcement of the arrival 
of the "first instalment" at Halifax: "Brother Jonathan," says 
that journal, "is making a great fuss about this foreign legion, and 
is using all kinds of proclamations to prevent the shipping of recruits, 
&c. , threatening to arrest parties engaged. He is a very smart fellow, 
but Bluenose is sometimes too much for him. They would like to 
lay hands on Mr. Howe, but he is so slippery they cannot catch 
him." 

This state of things — this public excitement — the obvious fact that 
vigorous measures had been taken by this government to put a stop 
to this scheme of recruiting for the British army, so widely known 
here in March, could not but have been well known in England by 
the middle of April ; and if the recruiting project was abandoned as 
soon as the aversion to it by this government was manifested, it should 
have ceased in that month. Such, however, was not the fact. Was 
it abandoned in the succeeding months of May or June ? Through 
both of these months the recruiting agents swarmed more numerously 
than at any previous time in various parts of the Union, and the 



300 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

scheme was never prosecuted more vigorously than at that period. 
Mr. Crampton spent nearly all the month of May in the British 
provinces in forwarding that scheme, though he must have been 
aware as early as March of the fact that the British recruiting agents 
had been prosecuted by the United States. 

The disclosures on the examination and trial of the offenders first 
brought to light the information which rendered it quite certain that 
British officials had instigated these recruitments ; that the agents 
employed were engaged by them, and were plentifully supplied with 
means for carrying on the service. 

No abatement of the efforts to execute the scheme, except what was 
fairly attributable to the criminal proceedings against some of the 
recruiters, was visible when you were directed in my despatch of the 
15th of July, as you had been in that of the 9th of June, to call the 
attention of her Majesty's government to the subject. No knowledge 
of the abandonment of the scheme was received here until the 4th of 
August. 

More than four months before it was known here that there was any 
intention to suspend the scheme, this government had, in the most 
public manner, signalized its utter repugnance to the proceedings un- 
der it ; aud nearly two months before any notice of such intention was 
received here, instructions were sent to you to remonstrate against it, 
and to claim satisfaction for the part which British officers had taken 
in the perpetration of this international offence. 

I have presented this detail of facts to show the reasons why I can- 
not admit, as the Earl of Clarendon assumes I would, the correctness 
of his statement, ' ' that as soon as it became apparent that the United 
States government was averse to the scheme, and that it might lead 
to violations of the United States law, the whole project was abandoned 
out of deference to the United States." 

The President cannot adopt the opinion of Lord Clarendon, that the 
question between the two countries has shrunk into the narrow limits 
he has assigned to it. It is true,- the scheme is at length abandoned, 
and this government accepts his assurance that it is not about to be 
revived ; but the right to revive it, and to carry it out to the same ex- 
tent as heretofore, is held in reserve. If nothing more is to be done, 
the United States are left without indemnity for the past or security 
for the future ; and they will be understood as assenting to principles 
which have been once resorted to, and may be again, to lay open their 
territories to the incursions of the recruiting agents of any belligerent 
that may have occasion to augment its military force. 

Another of the facts put on record by the Earl of Clarendon, which 
he assumes I will admit to be correct, is, " that Mr. Marcy was in 
confidential communication with you [Mr. Crampton] on the subject 
for months without ever, that I am aware of, warning you against 
attempting anything of the kind, or stating that the United States 
would resist or resent it, apart from any question of municipal law ; 
thus, in effect, acquiescing, and only insisting that the United States 
law should be respected. ' ' 

It gives me pleasure to say, that my intercourse with Mr. Cramp- 
ton has been intimate, friendly, and perhaps it may be regarded as 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 301 

having been in some degree confidential. I resisted the evidence 
tending to implicate him in the recruiting project until it became 
too powerful to be any longer withstood. Scarcely anything could 
have occurred more painful to me than to be obliged, by a high sense 
of duty, to controvert in any way, or even to qualify, a statement 
which, it is fair to presume has had his sanction. The charge im- 
putes to me official delinquency, but I shall notice it only on account 
of its direct bearing upon the merits of the case under discussion. If 
I gave him no warning beyond insisting upon the observance of the 
United States law, it was because I had not at that time any knowl- 
edge of the extent of the recruiting scheme. He had satisfied me 
that his government had no connexion with it, and was in no way 
responsible for what was doing in the United States to raise recruits 
for the British army. The first intimation that I had been misled in 
this respect reached me while Mr. Crampton was absent in the British 
provinces, shortly before my despatch of the 9th of June was sent to 
you. 

It is not for me to raise the question whether Mr. Crampton has 
or has not complied with his instructions to have "no concealment" 
with me on the subject, but I am quite certain that on no occasion 
has he intimated to me that the British government or any of its offi- 
cers was, or had been, in any way, concerned in sending agents into 
the United States to recruit therein, or to use any inducements for 
that purpose ; nor did he ever notify me that he was taking, or in- 
tended to take, any part in furthering such proceedings. Such a com- 
munication, timely made, would, probably, have arrested the mischief 
at its commencement. 

Very soon after the first development of the recruiting operations 
here, Mr. Crampton read to me a letter, dated the 22d of March, ad- 
dressed by him to the British consul at New York, the contents of 
which I here insert : 

" I have received your letter of the 20th instant, [March,] enclosing 
"a printed handbill, signed Angus McDonald, and informing me that 
the said McDonald states to you that he has issued it by the author- 
ity of her Majesty's government. 

"I have to state to you, that Angus McDonald has no authority 
from her Majesty's government for the issue of the handbill in ques- 
tion, or for hiring or retaining any person in the United States to go 
beyond the limits of the same with intent to be enlisted in her Majes- 
ty's service. 

" This would constitute an infraction of the neutrality laws of the 
United States, (act of Congress of 1818, section 2,) and her Majesty's 
government, however desirous they may be to obtain recruits for the 
British army, are still more anxious that the laws of the states with 
which hor Majesty is at peace should be respected." 

I regarded this act of Mr. Crampton as a disavowal by the British 
government, as well as by himself, of all participation in the recruit- 
ing proceedings, then just commenced within the United States. 
Lord Clarendon ought not to believe that Mr. Crampton was more 
communicative to me than he had been to his own government. As 
late as the 16th of July last, after the orders for abandoning the 



302 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

scheme had been issued, Lord Clarendon was in utter ignorance that 
a single agent had ever been sent into th© United States, or employed 
therein, for the purpose of recruiting for the British army. This is 
proved by the following extract from his despatch of that date : 

"Her Majesty's government do not deny that the acts and adver- 
tisement of these self-constituted and unauthorized agents were in 
many instances undoubted violations of the law of the United States ; 
but such persons had no authority whatever for their proceedings 
from any British agents, by all of whom they were promptly and ui> 
equivocally disavowed." 

Lord Clarendon seems not to be aware of a fact which interrupted 
for at least a month, in the busiest season of recruiting, all communi- 
cation whatever between Mr. Crampton and myself. 

Not long after Mr. Crampton read to me his letter to Mr. Barclay, 
which satisfied me at that time that her Majesty's government had 
not only no connexion with the recruiting then going on in the United 
States, but discountenanced and condemned it, he left Washington, 
went to the British provinces, and did not return hither until the early 
part of June. He made no disclosures to me after his return in 
regard to the object of his visit to the provinces. What he did in 
furtherance of the recruiting scheme during this month's absence was 
but imperfectly known until about the time of Hertz's trial, and I am 
not indebted for this knowledge to any communication from Mr. 
Crampton. If the opportunity afforded by any "confidential com- 
munication" between Mr. Crampton and myself was not turned to a 
good account, and blame is imputable to either, it certainly does not 
attach to me. Mr. Crampton could not have been ignorant of what 
is now established beyond doubt, that a scheme for raising troops for 
the British service, within the United States, had been approved and 
adopted by her Majesty's government ; that authorized agents, fur- 
nished with instructions and pecuniary means, and stimulated by 
the promise of commissions in the British army, and other tempting , 
rewards, had been employed to induce persons to leave this country, 
and go into the British provinces, for the express purpose of entering 
into the British service ; and that many were prevailed on to do so, 
had embarked for Halifax free of expense in vessels employed by 
Britisli authority for that purpose, and, on arriving at Halifax, had 
enlisted and been enrolled in the British foreign legion. 

It is with reluctance that I perform the duty of bringing into view 
Mr. Crampton's connexion with some of the agents who were employed 
in carrying out the recruitment system, and who have, in doing so, 
violated the law and sovereign rights of this country. 

The intercourse between Mr. Crampton and Mr. Hertz, who was 
convicted in September last for violating the neutrality law of the 
United States, is established by Mr. Crampton's two letters to Hertz — 
one dated the 27th of January, and the other the 4th of February, 
1855. The originals of both, in the handwriting of Mr. Crampton, 
were produced to the court at the trial of Hertz. In the latter Mr. 
Crampton says : " With reference to our late conversation, I am now 
enabled to give you some more definite information on the subject to 
which it related." 






IN THE UNITED STATES. 303 

This connexion being established, it is allowable to allude briefly 
to Hertz's account, verified by his oath, of what took place between 
himself and Mr. Crampton in relation to recruiting in this country. 
Nothing is known of Hertz which can affect his veracity, except the 
fact that he was engaged in recruiting for the British army within the 
United States contrary to law, and has been convicted for that offence. 

Hertz says: "All that I did in procuring and sending men to 
Halifax for the foreign legion was clone by the advice and recom- 
mendation of Mr. Crampton, Mr. Howe, and Mr. Matthew ; I was 
employed by Mr. Howe, and acted as his agent, with the knowledge 
and approbation of Mr. Crampton and Mr. Matthew ; Mr. Matthew 
knew of both the expeditions I sent ; he approved and encouraged me 
in sending them away ; he encouraged me by his advice and counsel, 
and in giving me money to send them away." 

Mr. Max F. 0. Strobel acted a more conspicuous part than Mr. 
Hertz, and his conduct in the affair under consideration requires to be 
more fully traced. In the statement here presented in regard to his 
proceedings and connexion with British officers, and among them 
with Mr. Crampton, I intend to rely almost entirely upon original 
documents in possession of this government. I do not mean, how- 
ever, by this restriction, to cast the slightest doubt upon the credi- 
bility of Mr. Strobel. 

Mr. Crampton' s letter to Mr. Strobel was dated on the same day 
(February 4) as that addressed to Hertz, and is expressed nearly in 
the same terms. 

After Mr. Strobel' s interviews with Mr. Crampton in Washington, 
he embarked in the recruiting service, and suddenly rose to the rank 
of '''captain of the first company of the foreign legion." He went 
with a detachment of recruits, raised in Philadelphia, to Halifax ; 
was exultingly received into fellowship with the military and civil 
officers of the highest position in her Majesty's service there stationed ; 
was invited to partake of the hospitalities of "his excellency Sir 
Gaspard le Marchant," of "Colonel Clark, and the officers of the 
seventy-sixth regiment ;" and of " Colonel Fraser, Colonel Stotherd, 
and the officers of the royal artillery and royal engineers ;" and the 
original cards of invitation, addressed to him, were produced on 
Hertz's trial. 

After such an endorsement of his character, it would seem that the 
testimony of Captain Strobel, even if uncorroborated, should command 
confidence. 

Mr. Strobel, who had then acquired the rank of "captain of the 
first company in the foreign legion," and Mr. Crampton were again 
brought together at Halifax, and were engaged there for some time 
in making further arrangements for recruiting within the United 
States. 

Original documents, now in possession of this government, show 
that there can be no mistake as to the object of Mr. Crampton's visit 
to Halifax, and that it had special regard to recruitments in the 
United States for the British service. 

Bruce McDonald, who appears to have been a secretary in the 
executive department of Nova Scotia, addressed a letter to " Captain 



304 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Strobel, first company foreign legion," dated " Provincial Secretary's 
office, 3d May, 1855," in these words : 

"Dear Sir: I am directed by bis Excellency the Lieutenant 
Governor to introduce to you the bearer, Lieutenant Kuntzel. He 
comes with a letter to Sir Gaspard from Mr. Crampton. You will 
please explain to him the steps necessary for him to take to secure a 
commission." 

On the 13th of May, the second or third day after Mr. Crampton' s 
arrival at Halifax, J. W. Preston, lieutenant of her Majesty's 76th 
regiment, who had charge of the depot at Niagara for the reception 
of recruits sent from the United States, wrote to Captain Strobel as 
follows : 

"My dear Strobel: I am directed by the general to acquaint you 
that Mr. Crampton wants to see you, at his house, at 10 o'clock to- 
morrow morning ; be punctual. If you like, come up to my room at 
half-past 9 o'clock, and we will go together." 

These letters corroborate Captain Strobel' s statement, that Mr. 
Crampton, while at Halifax, was engaged about the recruiting busi- 
ness within the United States. He afterwards went with Captain 
Strobel to Quebec, for the same purpose. 

Passing, without comment, the plan for recruiting, which Strobel 
says was prepared at the request of Mr. Crampton, and approved by 
him and Sir Gaspard le Marchant, I propose to offer some remarks 
upon the instructions furnished by Mr. Crampton, while in the prov- 
inces, to the recruiting agents who were to go to "Buffalo, Detroit, 
or Cleveland," "to make known to persons in the United States the 
terms and conditions upon which recruits will be received into the 
British service." This paper will be found, with the letters referred 
to, in Hertz's trial. Its genuineness, I presume, will not be ques- 
tioned. It is framed with great adroitness, and, as it may be resorted 
to for a defence of Mr. Crampton's conduct, it is entitled to a careful 
consideration. 

These instructions show that the persons sent into the United 
States to raise recruits therein for the foreign legion were authorized 
agents of British officers, and received directions for the guidance of 
their conduct from her Majesty's minister to this government. It is 
thought to be unreasonable in this government to complain of any of 
her Majesty's officers, because the agents thus employed were " en- 
joined carefully to refrain from anything which would constitute a 
violation of the law of the United States." A similar injunction to 
the agents first employed was also contained in the directions which 
preceded the instructions issued by Mr. Crampton in May ; and he 
well knew how utterly it had been disregarded by them. As his 
visit to the British provinces had special relation to the recruiting 
service, it cannot be presumed that he was uninformed of what had 
then happened to those agents in Philadelphia, New York, and 
Boston, through which cities he passed on his way to Halifax. 
This government had, as early as March, ordered prosecutions 
against the recruiting agents in those cities for having violated the 
law of the United States ; many had been arrested for that offence, 
and against several of them grand juries had found bills of indict- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. • 305 

ment. Instead of disconnecting himself from the proceedings which 
had led to this disastrous result, Mr. Crampton went to Halifax and 
Quebec to make further arrangements for sending other recruiters 
into the United States. He could have had no sufficient reason to 
believe that those who received fresh instructions, however cautiously 
devised, would pay any more regard to his injunction not to violate 
the law of the United States than Hertz and others had done. His 
experience of the past should have deterred him from renewing the 
experiment. As these instructions were furnished to many agents, 
they doubtless were.* framed with a view to bear a critical inspection, 
and, in case of emergency, to be adduced as proof to show that 
special regard was intended to be paid to the United States neutrality 
law. They will, however, hardly answer that purpose. There can 
be no doubt that these revised instructions were intended to impress 
the recruiting agents with the expediency of greater circumspection 
in their business, but it is evident that the motive for this caution had 
much more respect for the success of the recruiting project than for 
the United States law. This is apparent from the following para- 
graph of these instructions : 

"7. It is essential to success that no assemblages of persons should 
take place at beer-houses, or other similar places of entertainment, for 
the purpose of devising measures for enlisting ; and the parties should 
scrupulously avoid resorting to this or similar means of disseminating 
the desired information, inasmuch as the attention of the American 
authorities would not fail to be called to such proceedings, which 
would undoubtedly be regarded by them as an attempt to carry on 
recruiting for a foreign power within the limits of the United States ; 
and it certainly must be borne in mind that the institution of legal 
proceedings against any of the parties in question, even if they were 
to elude the penalty, would be fatal to the success of the enlistment 
itself."- 

Though the last instructions are a restriction upon the construction 
which Lord Clarendon has given to the law and rights of the United 
States, they would, even it literally observed, infringe both. This 
government maintains that in every instance where a person, whether 
a citizen or a foreigner, has been brought to the determination to leave 
this country for the purpose of entering into a foreign service as a 
soldier or sailor by any inducements offered by recruiting agents here, 
the law of the United States has been violated. 

There certainly can be no doubt of the violation of the law of the 
United States in every case where one party, the recruit, has been in- 
duced by the terms offered to him actually to leave the United States 
for the purpose of entering into foreign military service, and the other 
party has furnished the means, and borne the expense of taking him 
to a foreign depot, in the expectation that he would consummate the 
act by an enlistment. It will not, I presume, be denied that several 
hundred cases of this kind actually occurred in carrying out the 
scheme of British recruitment. The very design of employing agents 
for such a purpose, to act within the limits of the United States, in- 
volved in its consequences an infringement of that law. 

It is the solemn duty of the government of the United States to 
20 a 



306 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

maintain this construction of their neutrality law, and the attempt to 
set up and sustain a different one has created much surprise ; that it 
has been done by a friendly government, with which the United States 
are most anxious to maintain and strengthen the relations of amity 7 
is the cause of deep regret. 

When the President presented the case to the consideration of her 
Majesty's government, with the assurance that he had such informa-' 
tion as compelled him to believe that British officers, in eminent 
stations, were implicated in a scheme which had resulted in an in- 
fringement of the rights of the United States, and a violation of their 
law, and asked for some satisfaction for the wrong, he certainly did 
not expect that the conduct of these officers would be justified upon 
principles which impair the sovereignty of the United States as an in- 
dependent nation, and by an interpretation of their law which makes 
it entirely ineffective for the purposes intended. 

Some satisfaction for the injury was confidently expected, but 
nothing that can be regarded in that light has been offered ; and this 
government is compelled, in vindication of its rights and laws, to take 
a course which it sincerely hoped her Majesty's government would, 
have rendered unnecessary. 

Her Majesty's minister to this government, Mr. Crampton, has 
taken a conspicuous part in organizing and executing the scheme for 
recruiting for the British army within the United States. Were it 
possible, with due regard to the evidence and disclosures in the case, 
to assign him a subordinate part in that scheme, even that would not 
allow the President to change the course which he is obliged, under 
the circumstances, to pursue towards him. Any participation in the 
project, as it has been developed, of raising recruits in this country 
for the British service, was incompatible with his official relations to 
this government. His connexion with that affair has rendered him 
an unacceptable representative of her Britannic Majesty near this 
government, and you are directed by the President to ask her Majes- 
ty's government to recall him. 

Mr. Kowcroft, the British consul at Cincinnati, and Mr. Matthew, 
the British consul at Philadelphia, are implicated in the recruiting 
project, and you are further directed by the President to ask for their 
removal for that cause. 

The persons connected with the British consulate at New York 
have been actively engaged in furthering the recruiting scheme. Mr. 
Stanley, the assistant or clerk of the consul, has taken a more open 
and effective part than the consul himself, and is now under an in- 
dictment for violating the law against foreign recruiting. The con- 
sul, Mr. Barclay, could not but know of Mr. Stanley's conduct in 
that matter, but he still retains him in the consulate. Besides the 
responsibility that rightfully attaches to Mr. Barclay for the improper 
conduct of an employee in his office, and under his immediate and 
daily observation, this government is satisfied that he has himself not 
only favored the recruiting for the British army, but has participated 
in it. Moreover, the improper conduct of Mr. Barclay in the case of 
the barque Maury has justly given offence to the commercial com- 
munity in which he resides, and with which he has official connexion. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 307 

For these reasons, this government deems it proper to instruct you 
to ask the government of Great Britain to withdraw Mr. Barclay 
from the post of British consul at New York. 

You are directed by the President to read this despatch to the Earl 
of Clarendon, and, should he desire it, to hand him a copy. 

The copies of the original documents to which I have referred are 
contained in Hertz's trial. I send you herewith an authentic report 
of that trial, which you will offer to Lord Clarendon as a document 
connected with this despatch. I also send herewith a copy of the 
proceedings of the Chamber of Commerce in the city of New York 
relative to Mr. Barclay's conduct in the case of the barque Maury. 
This, also, you will present to Lord Clarendon, as . furnishing one 
ground for the request herein made for the withdrawal of Mr. Barclay. 
I am. sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MABCY. 

James Buchanan, Esq., <&c: } &g., dfcc. 



Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. 

[Extract.] 

Legation op the United States, 

London, February 1, 1856. 

Sir: I had an interview, by appointment, on Tuesday last, with 
Lord Clarendon, at the Foreign Office. After some preliminary con- 
versation on the subject of the approaching peace with Russia, I in- 
formed him I had come on purpose to read to him your despatch to 
me of the 28th ultimo, (December,) in reply to his despatch to Mr. 
Crampton of the 16th November last. Before proceeding to this, 
however, I expressed my desire to correct an error, or rather an omis- 
sion, in his report of a remark made by myself, contained in his de- 
spatch to Mr. Crampton. He said he "would be very sorry if any 
such error had been committed by him ; that nothing certainly was 
further from his intention." I replied that I had not the most remote 
idea he had done this intentionally, and I had no doubt it was a mere 
inadvertence ; but still, it was proper for me to correct it. I then 
read to his lordship the following paragraph from his despatch to Mr. 
Crampton of the 16th November : 

" Before I proceed to offer any remarks upon this despatch, (your 
No. 118, of the 13th October,) it will be proper to state that when it 
was read to me by Mr. Buchanan, I had no cognizance of Mr. Marcy's 
despatch of the 15th July, to which it alludes, and of which a copy 
was also transmitted to you ; and upon my observing this to Mr. Bu- 
chanan, he said he had not thought it necessary to communicate it to 
me, as, before it had reached him, he had received my note of the 
16th July, which he thought would finally settle the question that 
had arisen between the two governments." 

I then observed that his lordship's omission consisted in not having 



308 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

added the qualifications which I made at the time to this remark, that 
when I received your despatch of the 15th July I had not the least 
idea of Mr. Crampton's complicity in the business of recruiting. (In 
truth, I never had until I received your private letter of the 2d Sep- 
tember.) His lordship said he "did not recollect that I had made 
this remark at the time ; though this was quite probable, as he did 
recollect I had previously informed him, more than once, when speak- 
ing in reference to the satisfaction I had expressed in transmitting to 
you his note to me of the 16th July, that 1 had no idea at the time of 
Mr. Crampton's complicity in the affair." I stated it was quite cer- 
tain I had made this remark to him at the time. I had always been 
on my guard in conversing with him on the subject, from the time I 
first heard from you of Mr. Crampton's alleged complicity. He said 
he had no doubt I was correct in my recollection ; and I told him that 
in this I could not be mistaken, not only because my memory was dis- 
tinct, but because I had made notes of our conversation soon after it 
occurred. He said, for his own part, he never had time to make such 
notes, and* repeated he had no doubt my statement was correct, and 
expressed his regret that he had not embraced my remark in his des- 
patch to Mr. Crampton, but observed that he did not see its import- 
ance. I told him it might, possibly, be of some consequence to my- 
self, and I had ever considered Mr. Crampton's complicity in the 
affair a matter of very grave importance. I then mentioned that in 
other respects, his statement was not altogether correct, and I repeated 
to him the language which I had employed on the occasion, as follows: 
1 ' I did not deem it necessary to communicate this despatch (that 
of the 15th of July) to your lordship until I should hear from Mr. 
Marcy on the subject of your note of the 16th of July, which I thought 
at the time would finally settle the question, because I had not then 
the least idea of Mr. Crampton's complicity in the business of recruit- 

■I -|-| Q» ' ' ^ ^* 'P *P *K *K *J* 

Tours, very respectfully, 

JAMES BUCHANAN. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 309 



ATTORNEY GENERAL'S REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT. 



Attorney General's Office, 

February 27, 1856. 

In answer to that part of the resolution of the Senate of the 25th 
instant, which calls for evidence and documents to show the connexion 
of agents and officers of G-reat Britain with the alleged violation of 
the laws and sovereign rights of the United States, the Attorney Gen- 
eral has the honor to lay before the President a copy of a correspond- 
ence and accompanying documents, with the attorneys of the United 
States for the district of Massachusetts, the southern district of New 
York, the eastern district of Pennsylvania, and the southern district 
of Ohio ; and also a transcript of his official opinion of the 9th of 
August, pursuant to the President's order of the 6th of August last. 

C. CUSHING. 

To the President. 



List of papers accompanying the report of the Attorney General to the 
President, of February 27, 1856. 

The President of the United States to the Attorney General, Au- 
gust 6 , 1855. 

Mr. Gushing to the President, August 9, 1855, 
Mr. McKeon to Mr. Marcy, March 22, 1855. 
Mr. Gushing to Mr. McKeon, March 23, 1855. 
Mr. McKeon to Mr. Gushing, March 24, 1855. 
Mr. McKeon to Mr. Gushing, October 16, 1855. 
Mr. McKeon to Mr. Gushing, October 17, 1855. 
Mr. Gushing to Mr. McKeon, October 20, 1855. 
Mr. McKeon to Mr. Gushing, November 1, 1855. 
Mr. dishing to Mr. McKeon, December 8, 1855. 
Mr. McKeon to Mr. Gushing, December 11, 1855. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Van Dyke, March 26, 1855. 
Mr. Van Dyke to Mr. Cushing, March 29, 1855. 
Mr. Van Dyke to Mr. Gushing, September 10, 1855. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Van Dyke, September 12, 1855. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Van Dyke, September 17, 1855. 
Mr. Van Dyke to Mr. Cushing, September 27, 1855. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Van Dyke, September 28, 1855. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Van Dyke, December 18, 1855. 
Mr. Van Dyke to Mr. Cushing, December 19, 1855. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Jewett, December 8, 1855. 
Mr. Jewett to Mr. Cushing, December 18, 1855. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Jewett, January 10, 1856. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Hallett, December 8, 1855. 
Mr. Hallett to Mr. Cushing, December 24, 1855. 
Mr. Cushing to Mr. Hallett, January 17, 1856. 



310 • BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Executive Mansion, 

Washington, August 6, 1855. 

The reports of the district attorneys of the southern district of New 
York and the eastern district of Pennsylvania, on the subject of the 
levy of troops in the United States by official or other agents of Great 
Britain, are returned herewith to the Attorney General, and his 
opinion is required upon the question, whether or not the acts re- 
ported are in violation of the municipal law and of the national sov- 
ereignty and neutrality ; and especially upon the question, what legal 
responsibility, if any, those acts devolve on the British minister and 
British consuls. 

FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



Attorney General's Office, 

August 9, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith the considerations of law 
applicable to the enlistment of troops within the United States by the 
British government, in so far as the facts appearing in the documents 
before me concern the personal action either of the British minister 
or of the British consuls in the United States. 

There is no room for doubt as to the law regarding the general 
question. 

In the first place, the act of Congress of April 20th, 1818, contains 
the following provision : 

" Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall, within 
the territory or jurisdiction of the United States, enlist or enter him- 
self, or hire or retain another person to enlist or enter himself, or to 
go beyond the limits of, or jurisdiction of the United States, with in- 
tent to be enlisted or entered into the service of any foreign prince, 
state^ colony, district, or people, as a soldier, or as a marine or seaman 
on board of any vessel of war, letter of marque, or privateer, every 
person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, 
and shall be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars, and be im- 
prisoned not exceeding three years." (3 Stat, at Large,. p. 448.) 

Of course, as the levy of troops within the United States for foreign 
service is forbidden by law, no such right has, by Executive permis- 
sion, been given to Great Britain. To the contrary of this, the Brit- 
ish government was expressly notified, by letter of Mr. Marcy to Mr. 
Crampton of April 28th, 1854, that no enlistments in the United 
States would be permitted either to Great Britain or to Russia. (Ex. 
Docs. 1st session 33d Congress, vol. xii, No. 103, p. 5.) 

In the second place, independently of the municipal relations of the 
acts in question, they constitute, whether they be the acts of the Brit- 
ish government or of its minister and consuls, a violation of the sov- 
ereignty and of the neutral rights of the United States. 

The rule of public law is unequivocal on this point, and is correctly 
stated as follows, by Wolf: 

"Since the right of raising soldiers is a right of majesty, which 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 311 

must not be violated by a foreign nation, it is not permitted to raise 
soldiers on the territory without the consent of its sovereign." (Jus 
Gentium, s. 11*74.) 

By Vattel: "As war cannot be carried on without soldiers, it is 
evident that, whoever has the right of making war, has also naturally 
that of raising troops. The latter, therefore, belongs likewise to the 
sovereign, and is one of the prerogatives of majesty." (Vattel, Droit 
des Gens, 1. iii, ch. ii, p. 293.) 

"As the right of levying soldiers belongs solely to the nation or the 
sovereign, no person must attempt to enlist soldiers in a foreign coun- 
try without the permission of the sovereign ; and, even with that per- 
mission, none but volunteers are to be enlisted ; for the service of their 
country is out of the question here, and no sovereign has a right to 
give or sell his subjects to another. 

"Whoever undertakes to enlist soldiers in a foreign country with- 
out the sovereign's permission, and, in general, whoever entices away 
the subjects of another state, violates one of the most sacred rights of 
the prince and the nation. This crime is distinguished by the name 
of kidnapping or man-stealing, and is punished with the utmost se- 
verity in every well-regulated state. Foreign recruiters are hanged 
without mercy, and with great justice. It is not presumed that their 
sovereign has ordered them to commit a crime ; and supposing even 
that they had received such an order, they ought not to have obeyed 
it ; their sovereign having no right to command what is contrary to 
the law of nature." * * * " But if it appears that they acted 
by order, such a proceeding in a foreign sovereign is justly considered 
as an injury, and as a sufficient cause for declaring war against him, 
unless he make suitable reparation." (Vattel, Droit des Gens, 1. iii, 
ch. ii, p. 298.) 

By Kluber: "A state entirely neutral has the right to exact, even 
by force, if necessary, that belligerent powers do not use its neutral 
territory for the purposes of war ; that they take not therefrom muni- 
tions of war, and provisions and other immediate requirements of war, 
for their armies ; that they do not make there any military preparations, 
enrolments, or collections of troops; that none of their troops, armed or 
unarmed, pass through, &c, &c; that they exercise there no act of 
hostility against the persons or property of the subjects of the hostile 
state ; that they do not occupy it militarily, or make it the theatre of 
war." {Droit des Gens Moderne de V Europe, s. 285.) 

By Gr. F. de Martens: "Whilst, in cases of rupture between two 
nations, a neutral state preserves the full enjoyment of its territorial 
rights, it can, in the absence of treaties, prohibit during the war, as 
in time of peace, any passage or sojourn of foreign troops, and much 
more forbid the occupation of its fortresses, the recruiting, mustering 
and exercising troops ; and it may use force against those who shall 
attempt to violate the prohibition. ' ' {Precis du Droit des Gens, s. 350.) 

By Graliani: "All governments are accustomed to forbid, under 
capital penalty, any foreigner to make military engagements or re- 
cruits within their territory ; in doing which they do no more than to 



312 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

sustain and defend a natural right, and one inherent in every sover- 
eignty." * * 

"The neutral sovereign who leaves his subjects at liberty to engage 
themselves in the service of a foreign belligerent, will not therein be 
wanting to his neutral duties, provided it has been customary with 
his nation ; if it has been usual in time of peace ; if it accords with 
the physical and political condition of the country ; if, in fine, he 
practices indifference and impartiality, not denying to one belligerent 
what he concedes to the other. But if a sovereign has not been ac- 
customed to allow his subjects to enlist in the military or naval ser- 
vice of other governments, it may well be doubted whether he may, 
for the first time, do it on the occurrence of war between two states, 
each of which is in amity with him. I am not prepared to say that 
in so doing he gives equality of advantage and facilities to both ; for 
there might be inequality in the need of the belligerents ; for perhaps 
one of them, suffering from deficiency of men, would derive precious and 
powerful succor from such permission, ivhile to the other it ivould be 
useless and superfluous. In my opinion, therefore, this question comes 
within the general rule of essential neutral duties: that is, to continue 
in the anterior condition, it being lawful to persevere in what has been 
usual, but unlawful to innovate." (Dei Doveri de' Principi JSfeutrali, 
pp. 325, 327, 329.) 

By Hautefeuille : "The duties of belligerents may be summed up 
in very few words. The belligerent ought to abstain from the em- 
ployment of all such indirect means to molest his enemy as, in the 
accomplishment of their object, would first injuriously affect a neutral 
nation. He ought to respect, in the most complete and absolute 
manner, the independence and sovereignty of nations at peace : in a 
word, he ought to treat them in the same manner as if the most pro- 
found peace continued to prevail. Those nations, in fact, are at peace 
with him, fulfilling strictly their duties of neutrality ; they have the 
right to enjoy the advantages of their position, and to be exempt from 
all the evils of war ; the duty of the belligerent is to abstain from the in- 
fringement of this right. Thus neutral territory ought to be held 
sacred and inviolable by nations at war ; these last ought not, on any 
pretext, nor in any manner, to make use of such territory to subserve 
their purposes of hostilities, directly or indirectly. The passage of 
armed troops, the levying of soldiers, &c, &c, without the consent 
of the sovereign, would constitute an offence against the sovereignty 
of the neutral, and a violation of the duty of the belligerent." 
(Droits et Devoirs des Nations Neuires, torn, i, 312, 313.) 

" As to the territory of neutral nations, the occurrence of hostilities 
makes no change nor modification of their rights; they remain invio- 
lable as in time of peace. Their territory ought, then, to be sheltered 
from all enterprises of the belligerents, of whatever nature they may 
be. The consequences of war ought never to be felt by them directly ; 
that is to say, no act of hostility should be committed against them, 
under any pretext. 

"Belligerent nations, in this respect, have only the rights they 
possessed in time of peace, because war never injuriously affects na- 
tions at peace. Belligerents cannot, then, in any case, without the 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 313 

permission of the sovereign, use neutral territory, I do not say direct- 
ly, for the operations of war ; hut cannot even make use of it for any 
advantage whatever, to the prejudice of their enemy. This permis- 
sion cannot be granted to them hy the neutral without violating his 
duties. 

" The principle of the inviolability of the territory being admitted, 
the conclusion, as absolute as the principle itself, follows : that a bel- 
ligerent has no right to use neutral territory, in any manner what- 
ever, without the permission of the neutral nation, sovereign of such 
territory ; and cannot, therefore, levy troops there, and march armies 
through it, &c, without this permission. 

" The neutral has the incontestable right to resist every attempt the 
belligerent may make to use his territory ; to oppose it by all the 
means in his power, and even by force of arms, in the same manner as 
a citizen has the right to defend his property by all the means placed 
at his disposal by the law to which he is subject." (Ibid, torn, ii, 
pp. 48, 49.) 

I do not perceive that this doctrine is explicitly produced in any one 
of the books of international law published during the last few years 
in Great Britain. Possibly their silence on this point maybe caused 
by the policy of their country, which, under the kings of the house of 
Hanover, has frequently relied upon foreign recruits in time of war. 
However this may be, some of the English works referred to recognise 
the right of every sovereignty to the exclusive use of its own territory 
and resources, (Wildman's International Law, vol. i, p. 64,) but 
without adverting to the present logical consequence of this right ; 
although one of them discusses fully the collateral question, whether 
a state loses its neutrality by permitting foreign levies, and concludes, 
properly, that, if it be permitted to one, it should be permitted to each 
of the respective belligerent powers. (Manning's Law of Nations, 
bk. iii, ch. 1.) 

In this connexion, the same accredited English writer considers and 
confutes the assumption, crudely and erroneously taken up in Great 
Britain, that some doctrine to the contrary of this is to be found in 
Vattel ; and, upon an elaborate review of the whole subject, he con- 
cludes thus : 

" Foreign levies may not be allowed to one belligerent, while re- 
fused to his antagonist, consistently with the duties of neutrality. 
When treaties, antecedent to war, permit such exclusive privilege, 
then * * no complaint of breach of neutrality can be maintained by 
the excluded party. But when no antecedent treaty exists, such a 
permission would be a violation of neutrality, the principles of which 
demand the strictest abstinence from assistance to either party ; and, 
of course, will not admit that exclusive privileges, in so important a 
particular, should be granted to one belligerent. Nor have the cus- 
toms of Europe, derived from the practices of the middle ages, estab- 
lished any usage that prevents this question from being settled in 
accordance with the dictates of reason, or, in other words, with the 
law of nature." (Manning; ibid, p. 180.) 

Mr. Manning's reasoning is conclusive so far as it goes. And the 
imperfection of other English law-books in this respect is of no ac- 



314 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

count, as against the general authority of the expounders of interna- 
tional law in all the rest of Christendom. 

Misconstruction has also "been placed on the fact that Bynkershoek 
maintains the right of private or voluntary expatriation, even for the 
purpose of foreign military service. But he does not express or coun- 
tenance the thought that a foreign belligerent may recruit soldiers in 
a neutral country without the consent of its sovereign. On the con- 
trary, he exhibits in full the legislation of the United Provinces, ac- 
cording to which it was a capital offence to make enlistments in the 
country without consent of the States General. (Quoest. Jur. Publici, 
lib. i, c. 22.) 

Besides, Great Britain has, in her own legislation, sanctioned and 
adopted the rule of public law, by enacting that if any person what- 
ever, within the United Kingdom, or in any part of the dominions of 
Great Britain, shall hire, engage, retain, or procure, or shall attempt 
or endeavor to hire, retain, engage, or procure, any person whatever 
to enlist, or to enter or engage to enlist, as an officer, soldier, sailor, 
or marine, either on land or sea service, for or under or in aid of any 
foreign prince or government, or to go or agree to go or embark from 
any place in the British dominions for the purpose, or with the intent, 
to be so enlisted, entered, or engaged as aforesaid, every person so 
offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by 
fine or imprisonment, at the discretion of the court having jurisdiction 
of the act. (Act of 59 Geo. Ill, ch. 69.) 

We, in the United States, acting in the sense of natural right, and 
following the rules of public law as explained by the jurists of conti- 
nental Europe, asserted and established this doctrine at a very early 
period, in opposition to the undertaking of the French government, 
through its minister, M. Genet, to man or equip cruisers within the 
United States. (Mr. Jefferson to M. Genet, June 17, 1793 — American 
State Papers, For. Aff., vol. i, p. 154.) 

And our judicial text-books are full and explicit on the same point. 
(Wheaton by Lawrence, p. 498 ; Kent's Com., lee. 6.) 

It is obvious to the most superficial reflection, that no distinction of 
principle exists in the levy of a military force in the neutral country, 
as between the land and sea service ; and if Great Britain may raise 
within the United States volunteers for her land service, so Russia 
may raise them for her marine service — that is, may fit out privateers 
in our ports ; and, indeed, if we grant or permit the former privilege 
to Great Britain, we must, in like manner, in order to be impartially 
neutral, concede the latter privilege to Russia. 

And it is equally obvious that foreign recruiting cannot be forbid- 
den or permitted under the influence of any assumed national sympa- 
thies or antipathies. Individual or national preferences are quite 
immaterial in such a question. The United States cannot, either law- 
fully or honorably, practise a simulated neutrality ; nor can a dissem- 
bled alliance be claimed or expected from us, either by Great Britain 
or by Russia. 

From the well-established rules and principles of law, then, it is 
plain to conclude : 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 315 

1. The acts of enlistment in question are contrary to the municipal 
law of this country, and indictable as a high misdemeanor. 

2. Those acts, if permitted to one belligerent, must be permitted 
to all, in observance of impartial neutrality. 

3. Being against law in the United States, and therefore not per- 
mitted to Great Britain, if undertaken by her as a government, they 
afford just cause of war, being direct national violation of the terri- 
torial sovereignty of one nation by another. 

4. Whatever agents of the British government, whether official or 
unofficial, acting voluntarily or by orders, have participated in such 
acts, are not only guilty of a criminal infraction of the statute law, 
but also, in the language of Vattel, of violating one of the most 
sacred rights of the nation. 

I presume that if, in the present case, the British minister imagines 
that the acts performed under his direction were not contrary to the 
municipal law, it must be on the ground that the recruits were not 
completely enlisted in the United States ; that is, did not here in all 
form enter the military service of Great Britain. That assumption 
is altogether erroneous. The statute is express, that if any person 
shall hire or retain another person to go beyond the limits or jurisdic- 
tion of the United States, with intent to be enlisted or entered into the 
service of any foreign state, he shall be deemed guilty of the defined 
misdemeanor. 

It is possible, also, that he may have supposed that a solemn con- 
tract of hiring in the United States is necessary to constitute the of- 
fence. That would be mere delusion. The words of the statute are 
' ' hire or retain. ' ' It is true, our act of Congress does not expressly say, 
as the British act of Parliament does, "whether any enlistment 
money, pay, or reward shall have been given and received or not," 
(Act 59 Geo. Ill, ch. 69, s. 2 ;) nor was it necessary to insert these 
words. A party may be retained by a verbal promise, or by invitation 
for a declared or known purpose. If such a statute could be evaded 
or set at naught by elaborate contrivances to engage without enlist- 
ing, to retain without hiring, to invite without recruiting, to pay re- 
cruiting money in fact, but under another name of board, passage- 
money, expenses, or the like, it would be idle to pass acts of Congress 
for the punishment of this or any other offence. 

However this may be, and if such were the thought of the British 
government, it has not been successfully carried out ; for, on the evi- 
dence before me, including the general instructions of the British 
minister and his direct correspondence with recruiting officers in the 
United States and others, my opinion is positive, that the parties have 
made themselves amenable to the penalties of the statute, and may be 
convicted before any competent court of the United States. 

It is further to be observed, in conclusion of this branch of the sub- 
ject, that whether the acts of the British minister and his agents, in re- 
cruiting troops within the United States, do or do not come within the 
technical provisions of the act of Congress, is altogether immaterial to 
the question of international right, as between this government and 
that of Great Britain. If, by ingenious evasions of the letter of a 
penal statute, intended only for private malefactors, the British gov- 



316 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

eminent should, nevertheless, levy troops here, the fact of the statute 
being thus defeated and trampled under foot would serve only to aug- 
ment the public wrong. 

Suppose, for instance, that the British government shall have said 
to its officers, civil or military, in the British North American prov- 
inces, and to its diplomatic or consular agents in the United States: 
' ( You will proceed to raise so many men in the United States ; 
but remember that to do so is forbidden by the municipal law of 
that country, and is indictable as a misdemeanor ; you will, there- 
fore, take care to proceed cunningly in this, so as not to incur the 
penalties of the statute." Such instructions, while they might have 
the effect of raising the troops, as desired by the British government, 
without its agents incurring the penalties of the statute, would but 
constitute a more flagrant and aggravated violation of the national 
dignity and the sovereign rights of the United States. 

In truth, the statute in this matter is of but secondary account. The 
main consideration is the sovereign right of the United States to ex- 
ercise complete and exclusive jurisdiction within their own territory ; 
to remain strictly neutral, if they please, in the face of the warring 
nations of Europe ; and of course not to tolerate enlistments in the 
country by either of the belligerents, whether for land or sea service. 
If there be local statutes to punish the agents or parties to such enlist- 
ments, it is well ; but that is a domestic question for our considera- 
tion, and does not regard any foreign movement. All which it con- 
cerns a foreign government to know is, whether we, as a government, 
permit such enlistments. It is bound to ask permission of us before 
coming into our territory to raise troops for its own service. It has 
no business to inquire whether there be statutes on the subject or not. 
Least of all has it the right to take notice of the statutes only to see 
how it may devise means by which to evade them. Instead of this, it 
is bound, not only by every consideration of international comity, but 
of the strictest international law, to respect the sovereignty and re- 
gard the public policy of the United States. 

Accordingly, when, at the commencement of the great European 
struggle between England and France, near the close of the last cen- 
tury, the French convention assumed to recruit marine forces in the 
United States, it was held by President Washington, and by his Sec- 
retary of State, Mr. Jefferson, as explained in the correspondence 
hereinbefore quoted, that by the law of nations, in virtue of our sov- 
ereignty, and without stopping to enact municipal laws on the sub- 
ject, we had full right to repress and repel foreign enlistments, and, 
e converso, that the attempt to make any such enlistments was an act 
of gross national aggression on the United States. 

When a foreign government, by its agents, enters into the United 
States to perform acts in violation of our sovereignty, and contrary to 
our public policy, though acts not ma.de penal by municipal law, that 
is a grave national indignity and wrong. If, in addition to this, such 
foreign government, knowing that penal statutes on the subject exist, 
deliberately undertakes to evade the municipal law, and thus to baffle 
and bring into disrepute the internal administration of the country, 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 317 

in such case the foreign government not only violates hut insults our 
national sovereignty. 

I repeat, then, that if it were to he supposed that the British gov- 
ernment had so far forgotten what is due to its own dignity, as to in- 
struct its agents within the territories of the German Bund, in the 
Netherlands, in the United States, to enlist recruits without respect 
for local sovereignty, hut with care to avoid or evade the letter of local 
statutes, instead of diminishing, that would aggravate the injustice 
and the illegality of the proceeding in the eye of the law of nations, 
and the intensity of the public wrong as regards the neutral states, 
thus converted, without their consent, into a recruiting ground for the 
armies of Great Britain. 

Such instructions would he derogatory to the public honor in another 
respect. They presume that the United States, without becoming the 
open ally of Great Britain, will, by conniving at the use .of its territory 
for belligerent purposes, while professing neutrality, thus carry on, 
as already intimated, a dishonorable war in disguise against Kussia. 

It appears, however, that the British government, finding it impos- 
sible to keep the ranks of its army filled by voluntary enlistments, 
and being loth to encounter the responsibility of a law for conscrip- 
tion, for draughts on militia, for periodical service of its able-bodied 
men, or for any other systematic method of raising troops from its 
own population, introduced into Parliament a bill, entitled "An act 
to permit foreigners to be enlisted, and to serve as officers and soldiers 
in her Majesty's forces," but which was in fact a bill to authorize the 
government to employ agents to carry on recruiting service in the neu- 
tral states of Europe and America. 

The law was earnestly objected to in its progress, as insulting to 
neutral states, and derogatory to the national dignity; but was passed, 
nevertheless, on the 22d of December, 1854. (Hansard's Debates, 
third series, volume 136, passim.) 

At an early day after the passage of this act, measures were taken 
to recruit officers and men, for a proposed foreign legion, in the United 
States ; those measures being publicly pursued under the official re- 
sponsibility of Sir Gaspard le Marchant, lieutenant-governor of the 
province of Nova Scotia. A military depot was established at Halifax 
for the reception and enrolment of recruits ; and Mr. Howe, a member 
of the provincial government, with other agents, came into the United 
States to make arrangements for engaging and forwarding the recruits, 
chiefly from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Subsequently, 
corresponding arrangements were made for collecting and forwarding 
recruits from the western States, by Buffalo or Niagara, through Up- 
per Canada. 

These acts were commenced and prosecuted with printed handbills, 
and other means of advertisement, and recruits were collected in de- 
pots at New York and elsewhere, and regularly transported to Canada 
or Nova Scotia with undisguised notoriety, as if the United States 
were still a constituent part of the British empire. Of course they 
attracted great attention, and the various measures, whether legal or 
political, proper to put a stop to them, were instituted by your direc- 



318 BEITISH RECRUITMENT 

tion, through the instrumentality of the foreign or legal departments 
of the government of the United States. 

In the course of the investigations which ensued, among the facts 
"brought to light are some, in the documents referred to me, which 
unequivocally implicate not only British consuls but the British min- 
ister himself in the unlawful transactions in question, and so call for 
inquiry as to the rights of this government in reference to them and 
their government. 

In the application of the general rules of law to the offences com- 
mitted, it is necessary to distinguish between the case of any of the 
consuls and that of the minister. 

The several district attorneys of the United States, within whose 
jurisdiction, respectively, the cases occurred, very properly assumed 
that the consuls were subject to indictment for infraction of the mu- 
nicipal law, and have proceeded accordingly — prosecutions having 
already been instituted in the southern district of Ohio against the 
consul at Cincinnati, and in the southern district of New York against 
an officer of the consulate of New York. 

Nothing is better settled by adjudication in this country, than that 
foreign consuls are subject to criminal process for violation of the 
municipal laws. (United States vs. Kavara, ii Dall., 297 ; Mannhardt 
vs. Soderstrom, i Bin., 144; Commonwealth vs. Kosloff, i Serg. and 
E., 545 ; State vs. De la Foret, ii Nott and Ma, 217.) 

These adjudications are in exact conformity with the law of nations 
in regard to consuls, as understood and practised not less in Great 
Britain than in the other states of Christendom. (See Opin., Novem- 
ber 4, 1854, MSS ; also Kent's Com., vol. i, p. 44 ; Wheaton's El. by 
Lawrence, 305.) 

The only privilege which a consul enjoys, in this respect, in the 
United States, is that awarded to him by the constitution, of being 
tried by the federal courts : the effect of which is, that his case re- 
mains within the control of the general government, which may deal 
with it according to the convenience or the exigencies of its foreign 
policy, without impediment from the authority of any of the individ- 
ual States of the Union. (Const., art. iii, sec. 2 ; act of September 
24, 1789, sec. 9— i Stat, at Large, p. 77.) 

The consul at Cincinnati, as appears by the legal proceedings there, 
supposes that he is entitled to the benefits of certain peculiar stipula- 
tions in the consular convention between the United States and 
France, of February 23, 1853. If it were so, that would not serve him 
on the main point, because it does not exempt consuls from the crim- 
inal jurisdiction of either of the contracting governments. But this 
convention has no application whatever to the consular relations of 
Great Britain and the United States. Whether it applies or not to 
governments with which we have entered into stipulations to place 
our respective consuls on the footing of the most favored nation, is a 
question as yet sub lite. But there is no stipulation of that nature in 
existence, as between Great Britain and the United States. Of course, 
the duties and the rights of American consuls in Great Britain, and 
of British consuls in the United States, stand upon the law of na- 
tions, except as the same is modified by their treaties, and by the 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 319 

local law of either country. The local law of each, as we have seen^ 
withholds from consuls the diplomatic privilege of exterritoriality. 
A British consul, therefore, has no just cause of complaint, if, when 
charged with an offence, he is hei'cl amenable to the criminal juris- 
diction of the United States. 

In addition to those ordinary means of redress in the case of the 
misconduct of a foreign consul, is that afforded by the law of nations. 
The President of the United States has the undoubted power, in his 
discretion, to withdraw the exequatur of any foreign consul. To 
justify the exercise of this power, he does not need the fact of a tech- 
nical violation of law judicially proved. He may exercise it for any 
reasonable cause, whenever, in his judgment, it is called for by the 
interests or the honor of the United States. (De Clercq, Guide des 
Consulats, p. 101.) 

On each of these points provision was made in the commercial con- 
vention between the United States and Great Britain of July 3d, 
1815, which stipulates that "before any consul (in either country) 
shall act as such, he shall, in the usual form, be approved and 
admitted by the government to which he is sent ; and, * * in case of 
illegal or improper conduct towards the laws or government of the 
country to which he is sent, such consul may either be punished 
according to law, if the law will reach the case, or be sent back ; the 
offended government assigning to the other the reasons for the same." 
(Art. iv.) 

This convention, by its terms, was to subsist only four years. By 
a subsequent convention, that of October 20, 1818, its duration was 
prorogued ten years, (art. iv ;) and afterwards by the convention of 
August 6, 1827, for another ten years, and until denounced by either 
party on twelve months' notice. 

For the rest, the stipulations of the convention of 1815, as continued 
by the conventions of 1818 and 1827, are but declaratory of the law 
of nations, as that is understood both in Great Britain and the United 
States. 

In regard to the minister, it is clear, if he violate the laws of the 
government to which he is accredited, or otherwise offend its sove- 
reignty, there is no remedy except in the manner and form prescribed 
by the law of nations. He enjoys an exemption from judicial process, 
which immunity is not so much his right as that of his government. 

It was formerly held in England, as we see in March's case, re- 
ported by Bolle, in the time of James I., that, " although an am- 
bassador is privileged by the law of nature and of nations, yet if he 
commit any offence against the law of nature or reason, he shall lose 
his privilege, but not if he offend against a positive law of any realm.'* 
(Rolle's R., p. 175.) No such distinction between mala prohibita and 
mala in se, as respects ambassadors, is now admitted, and their ex- 
territoriality is the unanimous doctrine of all publicists ; and is recog- 
nised in England, as it is in the United States, by statute. 

The whole question is learnedly discussed by Wildman, whose views 
are in accordance with those of Grotius and Bynkershoek, which now 
prevail throughout Christendom. (Institutes, vol. 1, p. 90.) 

But the privilege of exterritoriality is not conferred on a public min- 



320 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

ister as a shield to crime. For any crimes which he may commit, the 
remedy varies according to the nature of the case. 

As to offences against the municipal law of the country, committed 
by a foreign minister, or other person entitled to the privilege of di- 
plomatic exterritoriality, we have a statute which declares that any 
writ or process against them, issued by any court, is utterly null and 
void. (Act of April 30, 1790, sec. 25. — 1 Statutes at Large, p. 117.) 
And this immunity of public ministers has been the subject of judi- 
cial recognition in several instances. (See United States vs. Hand, 
ii Wash. C. C. K. 435 ; United States vs. Liddle, ibid, p. 205 ; ex- 
parte Cabrera, ibid, p. 232. See also Wheaton by Lawrence, p. 284; 
Kent's Com., vol. 1, p. 38 : Opinion of Mr. Attorney General Lee, of 
July 27, 1797.) 

The cases of criminality on the part of a public minister may be 
distinguished into the following classes : 

1st. If the crime committed by the minister affect individuals only, 
(delicto, privata^) the government of the country is to demand his 
recall ; and if his government refuse to recall him, the government of 
the country may either expel him by force, or bring him to trial, as 
no longer entitled to the immunities of a minister. (Kluber, Droit 
des Gens., sec. 211 ; Ch. de Martens' Guide Diplomatique, torn. 1, p. 
88.) 

2d. If the crime affect the public safety of the country, its govern- 
ment may, for urgent cause, either seize and hold his person until the 
danger be passed, or expel him from the country by force ; for the 
safety of the state, which is superior to other considerations, is not to 
be perilled by overstrained regard for the privileges of an ambassador. 
(Ibid ; see also Kent, vol. i, 38 ; schooner Exchange vs. McFadden, 
vii Cranch, 116, 139.) Indeed, it has been held, in such a case, in 
England, that the offending party may be proceeded against for 
treason. " If," it is affirmed in the case of Rex vs. Owen, " an am- 
bassador compass and intend death to the king's person, in the land 
where he is, he may be condemned and executed for treason." (Rex 
vs. Owen, Rolle'sR., p. 188.) But that dictum is not in accord with pre- 
cedents, which, in general, go no further than the arrest and confine- 
ment, and the eventual or the immediate expulsion, of a public minis- 
ter, for treasonable acts, or acts dangerous to the security of the state. 

Signal instances of the arrest or summary expulsion of public minis- 
ters in such a case, are collected by Bynkershoek, by Wicquefort, by 
Wildman, and by Charles de Martens, (Causes Celebres.) 

A very modern case of great notoriety is that of Sir Henry Bulwer, 
who, while British minister at Madrid, during the administration of 
the Duke of Valencia, (General Narvaez,) being detected in complicity 
with domestic revolutionists, was required by letter of the Duke of 
Sotomayor, the Spanish minister of foreign affairs, to quit Spain im- 
mediately, and did so. (Hernandez, Espana y el Visconde Palmer- 
ston, Madrid, 1848.) 

This incident occasioned a brief interruption of the diplomatic rela- 
tions of the two governments ; but Spain stood firm ; and, as Sir 
Henry Bulwer had acted under the instructions of Lord Palmerston, 
the British minister of foreign affairs, the British government, after 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 321 

some delay and the exchange of explanations, conscious that it had 
been placed in the wrong by Lord Palrnerston, submitted to send a 
new minister to Madrid. (Hansard's Debates, third series, vol. 99, 

p. 347.). 

3d. Finally, if the offence be grave, but not such as to compromise 
the public safety, the course of proceeding in accordance with the law 
of nations, and sanctioned by diplomatic usage, is to demaSdthe recall 
of the minister, and meanwhile to refuse, or not, all further inter- 
course with him, according to the circumstances. 

The United States have pursued this course in several instances, of 
which a memorable one, and exactly pertinent to the present case, is 
the demand on France for the recall of M. Genet, guilty of enlist- 
ments in this country without the consent of its government. (Am. 
State Papers, For. Aff., vol. i, No. 65.) 

The public law and usage in this respect are well stated by a mod- 
ern English author, who says : 

" With respect to the dismissal of ministers, it is usual, where the 
matter admits of delay, first to demand his recall. * * But this is 
a mere act of courtesy, which cannot be expected on occasions of immi- 
nent peril. The dismissal of an ambassador on such occasions is not 
an assumption of jurisdiction, but a measure of self-defence, which no 
one has ever denied to be legal, in the case of ambassadors. * * If 
an ambassador use force, he may be repelled by force. * * When 
the danger is imminent, an ambassador may be seized as a public 
enemy, may be imprisoned, may be put to death, if it be indispensa- 
bly necessary to our safety. 5 ' (Wildman, Institutes, vol. i, p. 114.) 

On the whole, the case of the British minister regarded in the light 
of established rules of the law of nations, and diplomatic usage founded 
thereon, would seem to resolve itself into, first, a question of strict 
right, and, secondly, of discretion in the exercise of that right. 

It clearly is not a case affecting the security of the state, and thus 
needing or justifying the interposition of summary authority, as in 
the instance of the Prince of Cellamare, in France, (Ch. de Mar- 
tens, Causes Celebres, torn, i, p. 139,) Count G-yllenberg in Great 
Britain, (Foster's Crown Law, p. 187,) and many other cases of 
historical and legal notoriety or interest. No acts of violence are 
imputed to the British minister, nor *any purpose or act threatening 
to the national stability of the United States. What is charged 
against him is conduct improper in a public minister, illegal as re- 
spects the municipal law, injurious to the national sovereignty. If 
sufficiently shown, it requires to be repressed in such manner as effec- 
tively to vindicate the public honor. Of strict right, the President 
may, as the Queen of Spain did in the case of 'Sir Henry Bulwer, send 
his passports to the British minister, with intimation to leave the 
country without delay ; or he may well, in his discretion, adopt the 
milder course, as President Washington did in the case of M. Genet, 
that is, after affording to the British minister opportunity of explana- 
tion through the Secretary of State, then, if his explanation be not 
satisfactory, to demand his recall of the Queen's government. The 
personal esteem which the British minister justly enjoys here in other 
respects might counsel the latter course, more especially if the British 
21a 



322 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

government, assuming the responsibility of his acts, should thereupon 
proceed to tender, in its own name, complete and ample satisfaction 
for having authorized or permitted such a flagrant wrong as the sys- 
tematic attempt to recruit a military force in the United States, by 
the instrumentality of the lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia. 
« I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 
The President. 



Southern District of New York, 

U. S. District Attorney's Office, March 22, 1855. 

Sir : The enclosed handbill was brought to me this morning by 
Mr. McDonald, with the inquiry whether the employment therein in- 
dicated is contrary to law. He is to call again to-morrow. 

I have arrived at the conclusion that this business is illegal, in 
contravention of section 2 of the act of 20th April, 1818. 
I have the honor to remain, sir, your most obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 
United States District Attorney. 
Hon. W. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. G. 



[Enclosure.] 

HIGHLY IMPOETANT TO THE UNEMPLOYED ! 

The British government having concluded to form a foreign legion 
in Nova Scotia^, and to raise several regiments for duty in the province, 
offer a bounty of £6, or $30, together with the pay of $8 a month, 
rations, good clothing, and warm quarters, to every effective man, fit 
for military duty, from nineteen to forty years of age, to join which 
are invited English, Irish, Scotch, and Germans. The subscriber 
(with the view of assisting those who. have not the means of paying 
their passage) hereby gives notice that he has opened a passage office, 
No. 36, Pearl street, (near Broad,) where he proposes to engage good 
passages by good vessels to Halifax, leaving twice or three times a 
week, for the sum of $5, or procure through tickets by the railroad, 
leaving every morning, (Sundays excepted,) and arriving at St. John's, 
near Montreal, that evening, which passage-money must be paid him 
or his agent, by the parties, together with the small sum of fifty cents 
additional for commissions, on arriving at their destination in the 
province. It is hoped that those effective men who are now suffering 
and in distress, will avail themselves of this rare opportunity of bet- 
tering their condition before it is too late. 

angus Mcdonald, 

[Burroughs steam presses, 113 Fulton street, N. Y.] 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 323 

Attorney General's Office, 

March 23, 1855. 

Sir : The Secretary of State lias referred to me your letter to him of 
the 22d instant, enclosing a handbill signed cc Angus McDonald," 
who proposes to recruit soldiers for the military service of the British 
government, and advertises a recruiting station for that object at a 
place indicated in the city of New York. 

Statements, corroborative of this document, appear in sundry news- 
papers of New York. 

It is perfectly clear that any such enlistment is contrary to law. 
The act of Congress of April 20, 1818, not only forbids military en- 
listments in the United States, for a purpose hostile to any country in 
amity with us, but also by foreign states for any purpose whatever. 

If the troops recruiting for Great Britain in New York are intended 
to serve against Russia, the undertaking is in violation of our neu- 
trality ; and, if not, still it is in violation of the sovereign authority 
of the United States. 

Not long since the consul of the Mexican republic at San Fran- 
cisco was duly tried and convicted there of this precise offence, in 
having enlisted persons in California for the domestic service of his 
government. 

These views of the present question have been submitted to the 
President, and have his approbation ; and he accordingly has directed 
me to advise you at once, in order to avoid delay, and to desire you 
to take the proper and lawful steps, in your discretion, to bring to 
punishment all persons engaged in such enlistments within your dis- 
trict. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. GUSHING. 

Hon. John McKeon, 

United States Attorney, New York. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, March 24, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of 
yesterday, expressing the views of the President in regard to the 
enlistment at this station of soldiers for Great Britain. 

Permit me to say that I will, with great pleasure, carry out the 
directions contained in your letter. 

In Order to give publicity to the law, I yesterday officially addressed 
the marshal of this district, and desired him to use all the means in 
his power to preserve inviolate our neutrality laws. I enclose a copy 
of such letter. 

I have the honor to remain, sir, your most obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 
United States District Attorney. 
Hon. Caleb Gushing, 

Attorney General United States } Washington, D. C. 



324 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, March 23, 1855. 

Sir : From the newspapers during the last few days, and from other 
sources, I am inclined to believe that persons in this city are engaged 
in recruiting men, and in shipping them to some place out of the 
jurisdiction of the United States, with the intent there to be formed 
into regiments, to serve in the present war of France, England, and 
their allies against Kussia. 

The United States are happily at peace with all the nations of the 
world. The continuance of peace to our country depends upon the 
strict enforcement of our neutrality laws. The government is deter- 
mined to execute these laws to their fullest extent. This duty we 
owe to ourselves, and to all the nations with whom we are in amity. 

I beg, therefore, to call your attention to the 2d section of the 
neutrality act of 1818, which provides that " if any person shall, 
within the territory or jurisdiction of the United States, enlist or enter 
himself, or hire or retain another person to enlist or enter himself, or 
to go beyond the limits or jurisdiction of the United States with intent 
to be enlisted or entered in the service of any foreign prince, state, 
colony, district, or people, as a soldier, as a marine, or seaman on 
board of any vessel of war, letter of marque, or privateer, every person 
so offending shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and 
shall be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars, and be imprisoned 
not exceeding three years." 

I wish you to use such means as may be at your command to pre- 
vent any violation of the laws of the United States, which are passed 
to preserve our neutrality. 

I will cheerfully co-operate with you in such measures as you may 
adopt, to nrevent the infraction of this important safeguard to our 
national peace and prosperity. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 

JOHN McK$ON, 
United States District Attorney. 

■A. T. Hillyer, Esq., 

United States Marshal, New York. 



Southern District op New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, October 16, 1855. 

Sir: I have the honor to report, that on the 12th day of October 
instant I brought to trial in the district court of the United States an 
indictment against Joseph Wagner, charging him with having, on 
the third day of August last, hired and retained Abraham Cook to 
go beyond the limits of the United States with intent to be enlisted 
in the service of the Queen of Great Britain as a soldier. 

The defendant was defended by Hon. Ogden Hoffman and several 
other eminent counsel. Judge Ingersoll presided, and delivered a 
charge to the jury, the substance of which is given in the enclosed 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 325 

published statement. We were engaged in the trial for two days . 
The jury rendered a verdict of guilty on the 13th instant. 
I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 
United States District Attorney. 
Hon. Caleb Cushing, 

Attorney General of the United States. 



F" •'; [Enclosure.] 

Reported for the Journal of Commerce. 

U. S. District Court, Saturday. 
Before Judge Ingersoll.— Enlisting men for the British service. 

The trial of Joseph Wagner was resumed to-day. On the part of 
the defence another witness was examined, who corroborated the evi- 
dence of two others, that Wagner was in bed on the forenoon of the 
day when Cook swore he met him in the Bowery, and that on the af- 
ternoon of that day Wagner went to Boston. 

The court, in charging the jury, recited the law of Congress under 
which the defendant was being tried, which we gave in our report of 
the first day's proceedings. The court then instructed the jury that 
this law provides that no person shall hire or retain any person to 
enlist or enter himself to go beyond the limits of the United States 
with intent to be enlisted as a soldier into the service of a foreign 
government. But if one person merely informs another that by his 
going to Halifax, or any foreign country, he could enlist as a soldier 
in the service of a foreign government, that would be no crime under 
the law of Congress. In such a case there would have been no hiring, 
or retaining by promise of hire, on either side ; and the law does not 
punish any one for giving such information. Any resident of the 
United States has a right to go to Halifax with intent to enlist '; that 
would be lawful ; but it is not lawful for any one, by any considera- 
tion paid, or promised to be paid, to engage another person to go to 
Halifax with intent to there enlist as a soldier in the service of any 
foreign government. And if Cook agreed with Wagner that he 
would go to Halifax and enlist as a soldier under the British govern- 
ment ; and if the consideration or inducement of such agreement on 
the part of Cook was a promise from Wagner that Cook should receive 
$30 in advance, and $10 per month for his services as a soldier under 
the British government ; or if a part or the whole of the consideration 
of that agreement, on the part of Cook, was the payment of the pas- 
sage of Cook from New York to Boston, or the promise to pay such 
passage ; or if the consideration of such agreement, or motive which 
led to it, was any promise of money or any other valuable thing by 
Wagner, and Cook, when he entered into such agreement, had, for 
such consideration, the intent to go to Halifax and to there enlist as 



326 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

a soldier under trie British government, then the offence, under the 
act of Congress, is complete, and Wagner must "be deemed guilty. 
But the mere giving information,, or the merely starting to go, is not 
sufficient. There must have been some inducement such as the court 
stated. If the testimony of Cook cannot he depended on, the prose- 
cution must fail. It was for the jury to determine whether they 
would give credit to Cook on the part of the prosecution, or to the 
three witnesses for the defence ; they cannot all speak the truth. If 
the jury were not satisfied beyond ari reasonable doubt, they would 
give a verdict for the defendant. If they were satisfied, they should 
find him guilty. 

The jury found the prisoner guilty. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, October 17, 1855. 
Sir : I have the honor to inform you that I have indictments un- 
tried against various individuals, charging them with a violation of 
the law relative to foreign enlistments. 

The proceedings which have been taken in this city, Philadelphia, 
and other places, have undoubtedly tended not only to the putting a 
stop to the enlistments for foreign service, but have also developed 
the connexion of the officials of the government of Great Britain, in 
this country, with a violation of our municipal laws. 
! The object of the prosecutions has been accomplished. It is evident 
that the parties against whom indictments have been found are but 
the instruments of others connected with a foreign power ; and it has 
appeared to me that nothing can be gained by a further prosecution 
of individual cases. 

I take the liberty of suggesting that I shall have jtour assent to 
Stay further proceedings on the untried indictments. 
I have the honor to remain, sir, your obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 
United States District Attorney. 
Hon. C. Cushing, 

Attorney General United States. 



Attorney General's Office, 

October 20, 1855. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the. reception of your two 
communications of the 16th and 17th instant, in which you inform 
me of the conviction of Joseph Wagner, accused of the offence of be- 
ing engaged in unlawfully recruiting troops within the United States 
for the service wof Great Britain, and request instructions as to other 
indictments of the same class still pending in your district. 
These prosecutions were instituted, primarily, for the purpose of 



IN THE UNITED STATES. ■ 327 

arresting tlie continued perpetration of acts derogatory to the sover- 
eignty and public honor, and contrary to the neutral policy of the 
United States. 

The punishment of crime in these, as in all other cases of infringe- 
ment of statute provisions, of whatever nature, was an object also, 
but in these particular cases a secondary one ; for the individual mis- 
demeanor of the parties implicated, whether they be citizens or for- 
eigners, and whether private or official persons, is but a minor inci- 
dent of the national indignity and wrong inflicted on this government 
by the foreign government, in whose behalf and for whose benefit they 
presume to violate the laws of the United States. 

If, therefore, you find that what has thus far been done by you so 
judiciously and successfully suffices to maintain the public peace and 
vindicate the public justice within your district, you will make such 
disposition, as in your discretion seems best, of the remaining com- 
plaints against any persons who do not hold an official relation to the 
British government. 

As to guilty persons of the latter description, whether yet under 
prosecution or not, their criminal acts stand on a different ground, 
and additional instructions regarding them will be forwarded to you 
in due time. 

Such persons are not only indictable, in common with all others 
who violate the law of the land, but they are also violators of the in- 
ternational law, and subject to special consideration by the United 
States, unless disavowed and punished by their own government. 

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, 

C. CASHING-. 

Hon. John McKeon, 

Attorney United States, New York. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, November 1, 1855. 

Sir: On the 16th October, ultimo, I had the honor to advise you of 
the conviction of Joseph Wagner, before Judge Ingersoll, upon an in 
dictment for a violation of the neutrality laws of the United States. 

Since then, the counsel for the accused expressed the desire to move 
for a new trial, and on that account sentence was deferred from day to 
day until the opening of the court this morning, when no motion in 
arrest being made, Judge Ingersoll sentenced Wagner to an impris- 
onment for two years, and to the payment of a fine of one hundred 
dollars. In passing sentence, Judge Ingersoll stated that he inflicted 
this punishment as a warning and example to others, and to prevent 
this country from being embarrassed, or running any risk of embar- 
rassment, in the conflicts of other powers. 

I have the honor to remain, sir, your obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 
United States District Attorney. 

Hon. Caleb Gushing, 

Attorney General. 



328 



BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



Attorney General's Office, 
December 8, 1855. 

Sir : I am directed by the President to request you to report, for 
his information, a list of all the criminal complaints entered in your 
district against persons accused of recruiting for the service of Great 
Britain, giving the names of the parties, and the time of each alleged 
act. 

I am, very respectfully, 

" c: CUSHING. 
Hon. John McKeon, 

United States Attorney, New York. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, December 11, 1855. 

Sir : Tour letter of the 8th instant, requesting me to report, for 
the information of the President, a list of all the criminal complaints 
entered in this district against persons accused of recruiting for the 
service of Great Britain, was received this morning only. 

I have the honor to enclose to you the required information, adding 
thereto the name of the complainant. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 
United States District Attorney. 
Hon. Caleb Cushing, 

Attorney General. 



List of criminal complaints. 

[Enclosure.] 



Date. 



Name of accused. 



Name of complainant. 



April 
May 
May 
May 



May 
May 



May 
June 
June 
June 



5, 1855. 
3, 1855. 
3, 1855. 
7, 1855. 

7, 1855. 

8, 1855. 
11, 1855. 
16, 1855. 
18, 1855. 
18, 1855. 

7, 1855. 
7, 1855. 
7, 1855. 



June 7, 1855. 
June 12, 1855. 
June 13, 1855. 
June 13, 1855. 



Adam Lutz 

Theodore Remy and Oscar Cromrey 

Julius Parkus and Wihelm Schumacher... 

Wachter and Belger 

Wachter 

Grambacher 

Andrew Lutz 

Rozenbaum 

: Wachter 



John B. Bettinger 

Philip Mellim and Albert Hahn 

Philip Mellim 

Kaufman, Rosenbaum, and 

Weise 

Kaufman and Rosenbaum. . 

George Spetzer 

Kartzlebin 



.do. 



Grand jury. 
Henrich Hoehmund, 
Peter Oswald. 
Max X. Miller. 
August Herbert. 
Adolph Bishop. 
August Meichel. 
Henry Kohler. 
Edward Schmidt. 
Edward Schmidt. 
John Gutkung. 
Adam Helrichs. 

Charles Dorble. 
Philip Hartegan. 
John Paulus. 
H. Bekker. 
Amred Tiel. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 

LIST— Continued. 



329 



Date. 



June 23, 1855. 

June 23, 1855. 
June 25, 1855. 



Aug. 5, 1855. 
Aug. 5, 1855. 



Name of accused. 



Milfort Von Casstensen, • 
Jorerensen 



• Thomann, 



John Bougard • _. 

Captain Schumacher, Oscar Cromey, Max- 
imillian A. Thorman, Frederick E. M. 
Carstensen, Joseph Smolensky, Joseph 

Traska, Charles H. Stanley 

Joseph Wagner _• 

do ^ 



Name of complainant. 



Jan. Tujeriah. 
Augustus T. Leeberman. 



Antonio Rosenbaum. 
LawreDce Berlin. 
Abraham Cook. 



Southern District of New York, 

United States District Attorney's Office. 



Attorney General's Office, 

March 26, 1855. 

Sir : Information having been communicated to the President that 
military enlistments for the British service are going on in Philadel- 
phia, he directs me to transmit to you the enclosed copy of a letter, 
of the 23d instant, to John McKeon, esq., attorney of the United 
States for the southern district of New York, and to request you to 
proceed against all parties engaged in such enlistments within your 
district. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHINO. 
Jas. 0. Van Dyke, Esq., 

District Attorney of the United States, Philadelphia. 



Office of Attorney U. S., Eastern Dist. Pennsylvania, 

140 Walnut street, Philadelphia, March 29, 1855. 

. Sir: Your communication of the 26th instant, but postmarked on 
the 28th, calling my attention to a rumor that certain parties were 
enlisting in the city of Philadelphia for the military service of the 
British government, and enclosing a copy of a letter, dated March 
23, 1855, to John McKeon, esq., attorney for the United States for 
the southern district of New York, and directing me, by request of 
the President, to proceed against all parties engaged in such enlist- 
ments within this district, is this morning received. 

In reply to your communication, I have the honor to report : that 
about ten days ago information was left at my and the United States 
marshal's office by some citizens of Philadelphia, who desired their 
names should be kept in confidence, that several persons were en- 
gaged in employing men to go to Halifax, under the pretext of work- 



330 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

ing on the railroad, but with the understanding that, when there, 
they were to enlist in the British service. I immediately determined 
to apprehend the parties, and, by the assistance and vigilance of the 
United States marshal for this district, succeeded in capturing_, on 
the 27th instant, four persons who have been engaged in keeping 
open, under the name of a commission office, a recruiting station, 
and also fifteen persons who had engaged to go to Nova Scotia for the 
purpose of enlisting. A partial hearing has been had before the 
United States commissioner, and the parties have been held to bail 
for a further hearing on Saturday next. 

* * * . * * ■ * * * 

In connexion with the marshal of this district, who has already 
exerted much energy and care in the matter, I shall continue, in 
pursuance of the instructions contained in your communication, to ap- 
prehend and bring to punishment all who shall be found violating 
our neutrality or national sovereignty in this respect. 
Very respectfully, 

JAS. 0. VAN DYKE, 
U. S. District Attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
Hon. C. Cushlng, 

Attorney General of the United States. 



Office -of Attorney U. S. a Eastern Dist. Pennsylvania, 

140 Walnut street, Philadelphia, September 10, 1855. 

Sir: There are now pending some twenty bills of indictment against 
various persons charged with enlisting persons for the war in the 
Crimea. I have fixed Monday next for the trial of all the cases, and 
am about sending for the witnesses. 

****** j ghaji -be pi eaS ed to receive your instructions 
at as early a day as possible. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAS. C. VAN DYKE. 
Hon. 0. Cushing, 

Attorney General of the United States. 



Attorney General's Office, 

September 12, 1855. 

r Sir : In reply to your letter of the 10th instant, on the subject of 
the indictments pending against persons charged with recruiting for 
the military service of Great Britain, I have the honor to make the 
following observations : 

Mr. McKeon has been advised of the desirableness of conferring 
with you personally, either by himself or his assistant, in regard to 
new evidence to which he may have access, and which can be useful 
to you. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 831 

I suggest the expediency of trying only a part of the cases now, 
especially if you fail to convict in some leading case. 

But the most important consideration is this : 

This government has, of course, addressed to that of Great Britain 
such demands of public redress and satisfaction in the premises as the 
national honor requires. But the government of Great Britain, with 
extraordinary inattention to the grave aspect of its acts- — namely, the 
flagrant violation of our sovereign rights involved in them — has 
supposed it a sufficient justification of what it has done, to reply that 
it gave instructions to its agents so to proceed as not to infringe our 
municipal laws ; and it quotes the remarks of Judge Kane in support 
of the idea that it has succeeded in this purpose. It may he so : Judge 
Kane is an upright and intelligent judge, and will pronounce the law 
as it is, without fear or favor. 

But if the British government has, by ingenious contrivances, suc- 
ceeded in sheltering its agents from conviction as malefactors, it has 
in so doing doubled the magnitude of the national wrong inflicted on 
the United States. 

This government has done its duty of internal administration, in 
prosecuting the individuals engaged in such acts. If they are acquit- 
ted, by reason of a deliberate undertaking on the part of the British 
government not only to violate as a nation our sovereign rights as a 
nation, but also to evade our municipal laws, and that undertaking 
shall be consummated by its agents in the United States — when all 
this shall have been judicially ascertained, the President will then 
have before him the elements of decision as to what international 
action it becomes the United States to adopt in so important a matter. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 

Jas. C. Van Dyke, Esq., 

United States Attorney, Philadelphia. 



Attorney General's Office, 

September 1*1, 1855. 

Sir : I desire to make a further suggestion in regard to the trial of 
parties charged with recruiting soldiers in the United States for the 
service of the British government. 

It is known that instructions on this subject were given by that 
government to its officers in the United States. We are told by Lord 
Clarendon that those officers had ' ' stringent instructions' ' so to pro- 
ceed as not to violate the municipal law — that is, to violate its spirit, 
hut not its letter. If so, the instructions themselves violated the sov- 
ereign rights of the United States. 

But, in the meantime, every consul of Great Britain in the United 
States is, by the avowal of his government, subject to the just sus- 
picion of breach of law, while, apparently, he must either have dis- 
obeyed his own government, or, in obeying it, have abused his con" 



332 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

sular functions, by the violation of his international duty to the Uni- 
ted States, j 

In these circumstances, it is deemed highly necessary that the 
British consul in Philadelphia, or any other officer of the British 
government, shall not he suffered to interfere in the trials, as he did 
on a previous occasion ; that no letter of his be read, except in the 
due form of evidence ; and that, if he has anything to say, he shall 
he put on the stand hy the defence, in order that he may he fully 
cross-examined hy the prosecution. 

It is clear that he has no right, hy any rule of puhlic law or of in- 
ternational comity, to he heard in the case by the court, otherwise 
than as a witness, whether enforced or volunteer. 

I have the honor to he,* very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 

Jambs C. Van Dyke, Esq., 

Attorney United States, Philadelphia. 



Office of Attorney XL S., Eastern Dist. Pennsylvania, 
140 Walnut street, Philadelphia, September 27, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to report that, in the case of the United 
States vs. Henry Hertz and Emanuel C. Perkins, charged with 
hiring and retaining persons to go beyond the limits or jurisdiction 
of the United States, with the intent to enlist in the service of her 
Most Gracious Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Hon. 
J. K. Kane this morning charged the jury in a learned and able opin- 
ion. The jury retired at 11 o'clock, and at 15 minutes after 11 returned 
with a verdict of not guilty as to E. C. Perkins, and of guilty as to 
Henry Hertz, on all the hills of indictment which I had submitted to 
their consideration. 

I will transmit to you, in a few days, a full report of the whole case, 
as reported hy James B. Sheridan, phonographic reporter. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JAMES C. VAN DYKE, 
Attorney for United States. 
Hon. C. Cushing, 

Attorney General of United States. 



Attorney General's Office, 

September 28, 1855. 
Sir : I have received your letter of the 27th. 
I congratulate you on the complete success of the prosecution. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 
James C. Van Dyke, Esq., 

United States Attorney, Philadelphia. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 333 

Attorney General's Office, 

December 8, 1855. 
Sir : I am directed by the President to request you to report, for 
his information, a list of all the criminal complaints entered in your 
district against persons accused of recruiting for the service of Great 
Britain, giving the names of the parties, and the time of each alleged 
act. 

I am, very respectfully, 



C. CUSHINGv 



James C, Van Dyke, Esq., 

United States Attorney, Philadelphia. 



Office of Attorney U. S., Eastern Dist. Pennsylvania, 

Philadelphia, December 19, 1855. 

Sir : Tour communication of the 8th December, instant, was duly 
received. In reply, I have the honor to report that the annexed state- 
ment will show the different causes which have originated in this dis- 
trict against persons charged with enlisting for the military service of 
Great Britain. Yon will observe by that list that there are, apparently, 
fivt different warrants issued. The whole five maybe properly classi- 
fied into two sets of causes — first, those numbered 1, 2, 3, which re- 
sulted in the indictments against Hertz and Perkins; second, those 
numbered 4 and 5, which resulted in the indictments against Baron 
Vanschwatzenhorn and Emanuel Schuminski. 

The recruiting business in Philadelphia was commenced about the 
first of March last, at an office opened for that purpose, in Third 
street, near Walnut. When I first received information as to the ob- 
ject in opening this office, I directed inquiry to be made for the names 
of the parties who had charge of it. It "was, however, soon found to 
be impossible to get the names of any of the parties ; and, learning 
that persons by the names of Gilroy, Gallaher, and others, had enlist- 
ed at that office, a warrant was issued for their arrest, with a clause 
authorizing the marshal to arrest such other persons as might be point- 
ed out as being engaged in the same business. By virtue of this war- 
rant, the company, about leaving under the command of William 
Budd, was arrested, together with all the persons in the office". 
Among them were the defendants mentioned in case No. 2 of annexed 
schedule, except E. C. Perkins, who was, at the same time, arrested 
at his boarding-house. These parties being arrested, and having de- 
termined upon the propriety of making witnesses for the government 
of the defendants named in case No. 1, of course that case was aban- 
doned. 

Of the defendants mentioned in case No; 2, Hertz and Perkins 
were alone held for trial ; the evidence showing clearly that Hertz 
was the principal offender, and that all the other defendants, except 
Budd and Perkins, were mere visiters at the office of Hertz. It being 
at that time impossible to show the real design of Hertz in sending 



334 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

men to Halifax, except "by the testimony of William Budd, I concluded 
to accept his offer to give testimony for the government. 

The cause No. 8 arose out of a charge made against William Buck- 
nail on the oath of William Budd. The evidence against him was, 
that he had brought to Philadelphia a number of handbills, and left 
them at the office of Mr. Hertz. The bills thus brought on were the 
printed bills with the arms of her Britannic Majesty, as published on 
page 15 of the report of the trial of Henry Hertz. 

On habeas corpus before honorable John K. Kane, Wm. T. Buck- 
nail was discharged ; the judge holding the government to the proof 
of some overt act of enlistment within the jurisdiction of the United 
States, or of sending some person beyomi the jurisdiction of the United 
States, knowing that the person so sent had the intention, when be- 
yond such jurisdiction, to enlist, &c, &c. There was no proof of any 
act of this kind on the part of Mr. Bucknall, and he was discharged. 
It was the opinion of the court on this primary hearing to which the 
British press refers, when they say that Judge Kane had decided that 
the action of the British agents in the premises was not a violation of 
the municipal law of the United States. This, however, was not at 
that nor at any subsequent time, the opinion of the court. The ex- 
tent of the adjudication was, that the evidence at that hearing in re- 
lation to the action of Mr. Bucknall did not establish, as against him, 
a prima-facie case within the letter of the act of Congress. 

Of the causes thus far referred to, indictments were sent to* and 
found by the grand jury against Henry Hertz and E. C. Perkins. 
There were a number of joint bills against these defendants. Some 
of them have been tried, and convictions have been had of Henry 
Hertz, who is yet awaiting sentence. 

E. C. Perkins coming within the ruling of Judge Kane, on the 
hearing of the habeas corpus ex relatione Wm. T. Bucknall, he was 
acquitted. 

The full report of this trial you have already received m the printed 
pamphlet, copies of which have been transmitted to your department. 

The causes marked 4 and 5, on the annexed schedule, were prose- 
cutions against some persons at the time unknown, who had opened 
an office in the upper part of the city amongst the G-erman popula- 
tion. The warrant No. 4 was issued, and under it the defendants 
mentioned in case No. 5 were brought in. The defendants were held 
for their appearance at the next term of the district court of the 
United States. Bills of indictment were found by the grand jury, 
and the defendants have, since that time, neglected to appear in court. 
These defendants acted under the directions of Mr. Hertz. They 
were procured by him to open their office for the recruiting business, 
after the. office in Third street had been closed by the arrest of. Henry 
Hertz et al. There have been no other prosecutions for violation of 
the neutrality laws growing out of enlistments for the British service. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. 0. VAN DYKE, 
Attorney U. S. Eastern District Pa. 

Hon. 0. Cushing, 

Attorney General United States. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 335 

[Enclosure.] 

Copies of entries from Commissioner's docket. 

No. 1. — United States vs. Grilroy, McGowen, Gallagher, et al. } 
charged on oath of E. W. Powers with violating neutrality laws. 

1855, March 28, 1 o'clock a. m., process exit. 

No. 2. — United States vs. E. 0. Perkins and others by description, 
charged on oath of E. W. Powers with violatiDg neutrality laws. 

1855, March 28, 1 o'clock a. m., process exit. 

Eo die process returned, and E. C. Perkins^ Henry Hertz, Augustus 
Stahl, Barret Leob, John Jacob Boschart, and William Budd, brought 
up. 

The following named witnesses were examined, viz : William Jones, 
Andrew McManus, Michael Grilroy, Wm. A. Leese, Dennis McLaugh- 
lin, and E. W. Powers. 

Mr. Van Dyke moves that the defendants, except Augustus Stahl, 
be held for further hearing. 

Each is held in the sum of $2,000, as follows : 

E. C. Perkins, with Wm. Magill as surety. 

Henry Hertz, with Jacob Aub as surety. 

Barnet Leob in $500, with Philip Lang as surety. 

J. J. Boschart in $500, with N. Fend as surety. 

William Budd is committed. 

Mr. Yan Dyke moves for commitment of the following witnesses : 
Augustus Qeese, John Eiddlebury, Wm. Eckert, Charles Weaver, 
James McConnell, Philip Sibet, H. Kerstein, Kobert Kern, Peter 
Muhr, Wm. Finley, William Jones, and James Johnson. Commit- 
ments exit. 

March 31, 1855. Defendants are present, with counsel ; Mr. Vaux 
for Wm. Budd. 

Mr. Kemak for Hertz, Leob, and Boschart. 

Mr. Guillon for Mr. Perkins. 

The following witnesses are examined, viz : Michael Grilroy, P. W. 
Conroy, H. B. Mann, Edward G. Webb. 

The district attorney moves a continuance till Friday next at 12 
o'clock. 

Defendants Leob, Boschart, and Budd committed for want of bail, 
$500. 

April 2. Defendants present. Wm. McGill sworn ; John Jen- 
kins sworn ; F. M. Wynkoop sworn. 

On motion of district attorney, Wm. Budd is discharged on his own 
recognisance. 

Wm Budd is called and sworn as a witness for the government. 

April 16, 1855. Defendants present, with counsel. 

After argument, Leob and Boschart are discharged. Perkins and 
Hertz held to answer at next term of court ; bail fixed at $1,000 each. 
Bail entered. 



336 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



Before Commissioner Heazlett. 

No. 3. — United States vs. William J. Bucknall, charged on oath, of 
William Budd with violation of neutrality laws. 

March 30. Affidavit filed, and process exit. 

March 31. Defendant held D. Sherwood surety in $2,000 for hear- 
ing on Monday next at 10 o'clock. 

April 2, 1855. Defendant present, with E. P. Kane, esq., as coun- 
sel, and held till Friday next for further hearing. 

April 18, 1855. Defendant present ; witness for government heard. 
Mr. Van Dyke moves that defendant be held to answer ; R. P. Kane, 
esq., contra. Defendant held in the sum of $1,000 to answer at the 
next term of the court. 

No. 4. United States* vs. a person by description, charged with en- 
listing and hiring others to enlist. 

April 2, 1855. Affidavit filed ; process exit. 

No. 5. United States vs. Baron Vanschwatzenhorn and Emanuel 
Schumunski, charged with enlisting men for the service of G-reat 
Britain. 

June 1, 1855. Affidavit filed of J. A. Weidenbourned, and pro- 
cess issued. 

June 2. Return C. 0. Defendants present. The following wit- 
nesses examined, viz : Theo. Theiner, Win. Krample, John Heaich, 
Simon Bosenbaund, Herman Tappert, Edward Golzken, William 
Winter. 

Defendants held in $500 to appear at next court United States. 
On motion of the district attorney, the following witnesses are com- 
mitted in default of bail : T. Theoner, H. Tappat, Ed. Gotzgen, 
Heaich, Winter, and Bosenbaum. 



Attorney General's Office, 

December 8, 1855. 

Sir : I am directed by the President to request you to report, for 
his information, a list of all the criminal complaints entered in your 
district against persons accused of recruiting for the service of G-reat 
Britain, giving the names of the parties, and the time of each alleged 
act. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 
Hugh J. Jewett, Esq., 

U. S. Attorney for Southern District of Ohio. 



United States Attorney's Office, 
Zanesville, December 18, 1855. 

Sir :• I am in receipt of your favor of the 8th instant. 

The names of the parties charged by indictment, in the circuit court 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 337 

for this district, for "recruiting for the service of Great Britain," are: 
1st, Charles Kowcroft; 2d, William Hamilton; 3d, Kobert B. McKay; 
4th, John Turnbull ; 5 th, Daniel DeCorponay. Complaint was made 
against one Frederick Pashuer, but no indictment found. 

About the 1st July last the marshal and his assistants were advised 
that the above named parties were violating the neutrality laws, by 
hiring persons to go beyond the jurisdiction of the United States with 
intent to enlist in the service of Great Britain, and that about the fan 
of July such hired persons would be started for Canada. 

On the morning of the day that the hired parties were to be 
dispatched, and after they were seated in the cars, they, with the 
above named parties, were arrested. 

On the 14th July a hearing was had before one of the commission- 
ers of the United States, when the above named parties, with the ex- 
ception of DeCorponay and the man named Pashuer, were recognized 
to appear and answer the charge at the ensuing October term of the 
circuit court, at which term indictments were found as before men- 
tioned, and the cases continued for trial at the next (April) term of 
said court. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. J. JEWETT, 

District Attorney. 

Hon. Caleb Cushing, Attorney General. 



Attorney General's Office, 

January 10, 1856. 
ISir : I have the honor to acknowledge the reception of your report 
of the 18th ultimo, respecting violations of the laws of the United 
States by agents of Great Britain within your district, and to say 
that wnat you have done in the premises is approved by the Presi- 
dent. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 
Hugh J. Jewett, Esq., 

Attorney United States for Southern District of Ohio. 



Attorney General's Office, 

December 8, 1855. 
Sir : I am directed by the President to request you to communicate, 
for his information, a brief report of all the legal proceedings had in 
your district to repress or punish military recruiting for the service 
of Great Britain, including, especially, a list of persons indicted, with 
a statement in each case of the time of the alleged acts. 
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 
Hon. Benjamin F. Hallett, 

United States Attorney, Boston. 
22 a 



338 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Office of U. S. Attorney, 

Boston, December 24, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to comply with your request, made by direc- 
tion of the President, to communicate for his information a report of 
the legal proceedings had in this district to redress or punish military 
recruiting for the service of G-reat Britain, including a list of the per- 
sons indicted, &c. 

In May last I received information that persons, apparently for- 
eigners, were being sent by steamers and packet-vessels from Boston 
to Halifax, whose passages were paid at this place. I had communi- 
cation with the collector, General Peaslee, who concurred with me in 
refusing passenger manifests when the purpose of such shipments 
was suspicious. Mr. S. S. Lewis, the agent of the Cunard line, acted 
very promply upon my suggestions, and refused applications made 
to him from New York to take passengers of this description, and 
receive their passage money on landing them at Halifax. I also re- 
ceived^ anonymously, a printed copy of the handbill issued from the 
office of the provincial secretary at Halifax, March 15, 1855, inviting 
shipmasters to bring poor men, who were willing to serve her Ma- 
jesty, and promising the cost of passage for each man shipped from 
Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, signed Lewis M. Wilkins. 
The same bill or proclamation is printed in the trial of Henry Hertz, 
page 15. Satisfied that Boston was being made a depot for the ship- 
ment of men designed for enlistment at Halifax, in evasion and vio- 
lation of the neutrality acts, I caused the following arrests to be 
made : 

June 6, 1855. — Charles Green and five other laboring men. Philip 
Kaufmann, an agent in bringing men from New York, to be forwarded 
to Halifax. 

June 8. — John M. Schwarrer, who kept a German hotel in Boston, 
and boarded the intended recruits. 

June 9. — Louis Celegi, another agent from New York, Dr. Keil- 
bach and Gastinson, Germans, were arrested. 

June 19. — In consequence of disclosures by some of the above par- 
ties, who voluntarily became witnesses, a warrant was issued against 
C. H. Stanley, of the consular office at New York, in order to retain 
the witnesses against him, who were sent to New York to Mr. Mc- 
Keon, under the statute for that purpose. 

June 23 and 25. — Parley, alias Grant, and Caleb Stewart, were 
arrested. 

June 28. — Upon information from the collector at Edgartown, (Mr. 
Norton,) and by the energetic action of Capt. Clark_, of the revenue- 
cutter "James Campbell," I caused the arrest by the marshal, on 
board the British brig "Buffalo," of four persons, appearing to be 
officers, viz: Louis Kazinski, a Pole, calling himself Count; Hugo 
Lippi, a German ; Kichard Kudelins, an Italian ; and H. Langlois, a 
French surgeon, together with 21 men under their control, bound to 
Halifax. By my request, Capt. Clark brought these persons to Bos- 
ton in his cutter, under arrest of the marshal, from Tarpaulin cove, 
where they were found. 

All the above persons, forty in number, (except Mr. Stanley,) were 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 339 

brought before Mr. Commissioner Woodbury, and their cases respec- 
tively investigated. Philip Kauffman, Louis Celegi, Schwarrer, 
Kazinski, Hugo Lippi, Kudelius, and Langlois, were held before the 
grand jury, and the other persons retained as witnesses or discharged. 
The grand jury found bills against all except Kauffman and Schwarrer, 
who became witnesses. 

These examinations distinctly proved a concerted arrangement 
between the colonial officers at Halifax and the British vice-consul 
at New York, to procure men in the United States, and ship them 
from Boston to go to Halifax, there to enlist in the foreign legion. 
Most of the men were deceived by promises of work on railroads or 
docks at Halifax, or other false pretences of employment. The agents 
who enticed the men were instructed in most cases, so as to evade the 
laws. 

Kauffman was employed at New York to bring men on to Boston 
by Count Kazinski, who, as is now proved, was under the orders and 
pay of Mr. Stanley at New York, and was promised a colonel's 
commission in the foreign legion. Kauffman and Celegi brought to 
Boston at different times fifty men, who were shipped to Halifax. 
The packets of Clark, Jones & Co., and of Sprague, Soule & Co., of 
Boston, transported large numbers of men, whose passages were paid 
through Mr. Howe, formerly colonial secretary. Mr. A. Winsor, 
who received passage money of Hertz at Philadelphia, March 25, was 
a member of the last named firm, and testified that he also received 
passage money in Boston, and forwarded men who were sent to Bos- 
ton from New York by Max F. 0. Strobel. Sixty men were shipped 
in Sprague, Soule & Co.'s vessels, who were forwarded by Strobel; 
and, at another time, thirty men t were dispatched in the bark Halifax, 
belonging to Clark, Jones & Co. These ship-owners and their agents 
here, though grossly violating the spirit of the law, could not be 
brought under its provisions of hiring and retaining. They desisted, 
however, promptly and honorably, after the disclosures made before 
the commissioner and grand jury in the investigations. It was also 
proved that Mr. Howe, the colonial agent, had been three several 
times in Boston, contracting for the passages of recruits, boarding 
and selecting men and paying money to agents engaged in procuring 
them ; but he could not be found after these disclosures to be arrested. 
Mr. Edward Whitney, of the firm of Sprague, Soule & Co., testified 
that Howe advanced to him $192 for passages, and that he, Howe, 
told Whitney that he had taken legal advice, and that it was lawful 
to ship the men to Halifax. A person named Jacoby procured at New 
York and brought to Boston a number of squads of men under the 
pretence that they were to enlist in the United States service. I never 
found but four men — three Frenchmen and one German — who admit- 
ted they intended to enlist as soldiers, and they were hired in New 
York. All the others declared they had been deceived, though many 
of them had previously stated their intention to enlist. 

Two men, George Hashren and John Hock, had been to Halifax to 
enlist, and were there rejected for physical defects, and sent back to 
Boston. Their testimony proved that the recruits sent from Boston 
were expected, and were received by the lieutenant governor of Nova 



340 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Scotia and the officers of the foreign legion^ and were examined and 
enlisted. 

In the district court of the United States, before Judge Sprague 
and a jury, from July 16th to the 21st, 1855, I tried the indictments 
found against Louis Kazinski and the three other officers, viz : Hugo 
Lippi, Eudelius, and Langlois, arrested on board the British brig 
Buffalo. The defendants were acquitted under the ruling of the 
judge, that there was not sufficient evidence of a hiring and a retain- 
ing of the men in this district, with their consent and concurrence in 
this district, to go to Halifax, there to enlist as soldiers. It was fully 
proved that Count Kazinski had the control of the men on board the 
brig Buffalo ; that he forcibly retained and refused to land some of 
them, who begged for their discharge ; that he declared he had tele- 
graphed to Halifax the number of men he had in the brig Buffalo, 
and must report them all at Halifax, and if the British officers there 
would release them after they got to Halifax, they would be sent back. 
But the consent of the men to be hired or to enlist while in the district 
of Massachusetts could not be proved. 

The facts disclosed gross deception practised upon the men by the 
British officers and agents concerned, and an elaborate combination 
to evade the neutrality laws, and yet secure the men at Halifax. 

Another indictment against Louis Celegi was also tried with the 
same result. But the effect of these proceedings and trials, and of the 
vigilance instituted to detect further attempts to evade the laws, was 
to break them up entirely in this city. 

Subsequently, on the 9th of August, 1855, I caused the arrest of 
Joseph Wagner, and, upon his examination, sufficient evidence was 
obtained to implicate him in an actual hiring of men at New York. 
I accordingly caused Wagner and the witnesses to be removed to New 
York by the marshal, where he was proceeded against by Mr. McKeon, 
and he was tried and found guilty. 

In the meantime I communicated to the United States attorneys, 
Mr. McKeon, of New York, and Mr. Van Dyke, of Philadelphia, all 
the information drawn out by the examinations here of the violations 
of the laws in those cities. On the 22d of June, 1855, I communi- 
cated to the Hon. Secretary of State, Mr. Marcy, the substance of the 
proceedings here. 

The counsel who defended Louis Kazinski and his associates in the 
trials here (Messrs. Andrew and Burt) were retained and paid a $500 
fee by Mr Stanley, of the British consulate at New York. Kazinski 
himself, who has recently been in Boston, has verified this statement 
to me ; and also that, at the time he took charge of the brig Buffalo, 
he held the written instructions of Mr. Stanley, and had the control 
of the vessel. 

I instituted the above proceedings without any direct instructions 
to that effect, but as within my duties as a prosecuting officer, and in 
the confidence that the President, as all his acts before and since have 
demonstrated, was earnestly desirous to maintain the good faith of 
the United States by a strict and impartial enforcement, in all cases, 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 341 

of the neutrality laws ; and I trust that my endeavors to enforce an 
observance of those laws in this district have met his approbation and 
that of the Attorney General. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

B. F. HALLETT, 

United States Attorney. 
Hon. C. Cushing, 

Attorney General. 



Attorney General's Office, 

January 17, 1856. 
Sir : I am directed by the President, in acknowledging the recep- 
tion of your communication of the 24th ultimo, to signify his entire 
satisfaction with all the steps taken by you in regard to enlistments 
for the military service of Great Britain within your district. 
I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 
Benj. F. Hallett, Esq., 

Attorney U. 8., District of Massachusetts. 



342 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



THE TRIAL OF HENRY HERTZ ET AL. 



DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF 

PENNSYLVANIA. 






UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VS. HENRY HERTZ AND EMANUEL C. PERKINS, 

Charged with hiring and retaining persons to go beyond the jurisdiction 
of the United States, with the intent to enlist in the British foreign 
legion for the Crimea. 



September 21, 1855. — Before the Honorable John K. Kane. 

The defendants were arraigned on several bills of indictment, to 
•which they severally pleaded not guilty. 
A jury is called, and sworn or affirmed as follows : 

1. Jeremiah Byerly, carpenter, Front street, below Catharine, 
Philadelphia. 

2. John Baird, marble mason, Spring Garden street, above 13th, 
Philadelphia. 

3. Joshua Fry- gentleman, Centre P. 0., Lehigh county, Penn. 

4. John G. Hinsell, collector, Crown street, above Vine, Phila- 
delphia. 

5. Michael D. Kelly, tailor, Division street, below 12th, Philadel- 
phia. 

6. Cornelius McCauley, manufacturer, No. 119 Lombard street, 
Philadelphia. 

7. John F. Parke, farmer, Radnor P. 0., Delaware county, Penn. 

8. George Reese, gentleman, Race street, above 3d, Philadelphia. 

9. John Stewart, farmer, Carlisle, Cumberland county, Penn. 

10. John Wilbank, innkeeper, Rugan street, above Callowhill 
street, Philadelphia. 

11. Joseph Lippencott, carpenter, Vernon street, above 10th, Phila- 
delphia. 

12. Charles R. Able, manufacturer, No. 478 North Fourth street, 
Philadelphia. 

The indictments were similar in their character, and related to the 
hiring of different persons. 

The following is a copy of one of the indictments : 

In the District Court of the United States in and for the Eastern Dis- 
trict of Pennsylvania, of May sessions, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hunched and fifty-five. 

Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ss : 

First count. — The grand inquest of the United States of America, 
inquiring for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, upon their oaths 
and affirmations respectively, do present : That Henry Hertz, late of 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 343 

the district aforesaid, yeoman, and Emanuel C. Perkins, late of the 
district aforesaid, yeoman, heretofore, to wit : on the twentieth day of 
February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
fifty-five, in the district aforesaid, and within the jurisdiction of this 
court, with force and arms, did hire and retain one William Budd to 
enlist himself as a soldier, in. the service of a foreign prince, state, 
colony, district, and people, contrary to the form of the act of Con- 
gress in such case made and provided, and against the peace and 
dignity of the United States. 

Second count. — The grand inquest of the United States of America, 
inquiring for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, upon their oaths 
and affirmations respectively, do further present : That Henry Hertz, 
late of the district aforesaid, yeoman, and Emanuel C. Perkins, late 
of the district aforesaid, yeoman, heretofore, to wit : on the twentieth 
day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and fifty-five, at the district aforesaid, and within the territory and 
jurisdiction of the United States and of this honorable court, with 
force and arms, did hire and retain William Budd to enlist and enter 
himself as a soldier in the service of a foreign prince, state, colony, 
district, and people, to wit : the service of her Most Gracious Majesty, 
the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, contrary to the form of the 
act of Congress in such case made and provided, and against the peace 
and dignity of the United States of America. 

Third count. — The grand inquest of the United States of America, 
inquiring for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, upon their oaths 
and affirmations respectively, do further present : That Henry Hertz, 
late of the district aforesaid, yeoman, and Emanuel C. Perkins, late 
of the district aforesaid, yeoman, heretofore, to wit : on the twentieth 
day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and fifty-five, at the district aforesaid, within the territory and juris- 
diction of the United States, and within the jurisdiction of this court, 
with force and arms, did hire and retain William Budd to go beyond 
the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, with the intent of 
him, the said William Budd, to be enlisted and entered as a soldier 
in the service of a foreign prince, state, colony, district, and people, 
contrary to the form of the act of Congress in such case made and 
provided, and against the peace and dignity of the United States of 
America. 

Fourth count. — The grand inquest of the United States of America, 
inquiring for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, upon their oaths 
and affirmations respectively, do further present : That Henry Hertz, 
late of said district,, yeoman, and Emanuel C. Perkins, late of the 
district aforesaid, yeoman, heretofore, to wit : on the twentieth day 
of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
fifty-five, at the district aforesaid, and within the territory and juris- 
diction of the United States, and within the jurisdiction of this honor- 
able court, with force and arms, did hire and retain William Budd to 
go beyond the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, with the 
intent of him, the said William Budd, to be enlisted and entered as a 
soldier in the service of a foreign prince, state, colony, district, and 
people, to wit: the service of her Most Gracious Majesty, the Queen of 



344 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Great Britain and Ireland, contrary to the form of trie act of Congress 
in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of 
the United States of America. 

Fifth count. — The grand inquest of the United States of America, 
inquiring for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, upon their oaths 
and affirmations respectively, do further present : That Henry Hertz, 
late of said district, yeoman, and Emanuel C. Perkins, late of the 
district aforesaid, yeoman, heretofore, to wit : on the twentieth day 
of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
fifty-five, at the district aforesaid, within the territory and jurisdic- 
tion of the United States, and within the jurisdiction of this court, 
with force and arms, did hire and retain William Budd to go beyond 
the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, with the intent of 
him, the said William Budd, to be enlisted and entered as a soldier, 
in the service of a foreign prince, state, colony, district, and people 
The said Henry Hertz and Emanuel C. Perkins, at the time they s° 
hired and retained the said William Budd to go beyond the limits an 01 
jurisdiction of the United States, with the intent as aforesaid, no 
being a subject or citizen of any foreign prince, state, colony, district, 
or people, transiently within the United States, and said hiring and 
retaining not being on board any vessel of war, letter of marque, or 
privateer, which at the time of the arrival within the United States 
of such vessel of war, letter of marque, or privateer was fitted and 
equipped as such; and the said William Budd, so hired and retained, 
not being a subject or citizen of the-same foreign prince, state, colony, 
district and people, transiently within the United States, enlisting and 
entering himself to serve such foreign prince, state, colony, district, 
or people, on board such vessel of war, letter of marque, or privateer, 
the United States being at peace with such foreign prince, state, 
colony, district, and people, contrary to the form of the act of Con- 
gress in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dig- 
nity of the United States of America. 

Sixth count. — The grand inquest of the United States of America, 
inquiring for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, upon their oaths and 
affirmations, do present: That Henry Hertz, late of said district, yeo- 
man, and Eemanuel C. Perkins, late of the district aforesaid, yeoman, 
heretofore, to wit : on the twentieth day of February, in the year of 
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, at the district 
aforesaid, and within the territory and jurisdiction of the United 
States, and within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, with force 
and arms, did hire and retain William Budd to go beyond the limits 
and jurisdiction of the United States, with intent of him, the said 
William Budd, to be enlisted and entered as a soldier in the service 
of aforeign prince, state, colony, district, and people, to wit : in the 
service of her Most Gracious Majesty, the Queen of Great Britain and 
Ireland. ^ The said Henry Hertz and Emanuel C. Perkins, at the time 
they so hired and retained the said William Budd to go beyond the 
limits and jurisdiction of the United States, with the intent as afore- 
said, not being a subject or citizen of the said Queen of Great Britain, 
transiently within the United States, and said hiring and retaining 
not being on board any vessel of war, letter of marque, or privateer, 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 345 

which at the time of its arrival within the United States was fitted and 
equipped as such ; and the said William Budd^ so hired and retained, 
not being a subject or citizen of her Most G-racious Majesty, the Queen 
of Gfreat Britain and Ireland, transiently within the United States, 
enlisting and entering himself to serve the said Queen of Great Britain, 
on board such vessel of war, letter of marque, or privateer, the United 
States being at peace with the said her Most G-racious Majesty, the 
Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, contrary to the form of the act 
of Congress in such case made and provided, and against the peace and 
dignity of the United States of America. 

JAMES 0. YAN DYKE, 
Attorney for the United States 

for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

J. C. Yan Dyke, esq., attorney for the United States, opened the 
case on the part of the prosecution, in substance as follows : 

May it please the court — gentlemen of the jury : It is a fact which 
will be judicially noticed by this court and jury, that during the year 
1855, as for some time previous, the Crimea has been the site of a san- 
guinary and melancholy conflict between some of the most powerful 
nations of the globe. 

That conflict has been conducted principally by the British, French 
and Turks on one side, and by Bussia on the other, and has become 
part of the political and legal history of nations. 

It is not important for us to inquire into the cause of this conflict, 
nor is it necessary for us to trace the various military or political ma- 
noeuvres by which it has been conducted, much less to endeavor to as- 
certain or speculate as to the probable result of an attack on the part 
of the allies, producing those misfortunes to the British government 
which they have endeavored to retrieve by a violation of law in this 
country. 

We do not deem it in any degree important to the American people 
that the combined forces of southern Europe should be successful 
against a single nation of the north in maintaining her asserted rights. 
In this free and republican country, the home ordained by Providence 
for the oppressed of all nations, we have very little to do with the 
struggle for supremacy and power by the different crowned heads of 
the Old World. The various schemes which have been adopted for 
the support of a balance of power by the potentates of Europe never 
have, and in my opinion never will advance those republican institu- 
tions which it is our pleasure and duty to foster. On the contrary, 
those combinations which have been formed in support of such bal- 
ance have at all times been made the instrument of retarding in Europe 
the progressive democratic spirit of the age, and of binding the masses 
more firmly beneath the yoke of an overgrown and decaying aristoc- 
racy ; and although the popular pulse in this country is manifestly 
against all war which originates in the desire to perpetuate or extend 
any other than a republican form of government, yet a proper re- 
gard for our national integrity forbids us to tolerate, on the part of 
those residing among us, any intermeddling in the disputes of other 
nations, where those disputes do not interfere with or concern the le- 



346 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

gitimate objects and manifest destiny of our own wide-spreading in- 
stitutions. Except in such cases, our policy is peace ; and we should 
endeavor to keep ourselves free from all political connexions which 
might in any way involve us in the conflict among European powers — 
not so much for the reason that we are not ever ready to defend our 
rights by an effectual resort to arms, but because our implied and 
treaty obligations require us firmly and faithfully to maintain an im- 
partial neutrality. 

. By prudence and an entire good faith in observing the position of 
an independent neutral nation, we increase our own happiness and 
prosperity at home, and secure to ourselves the right to demand a 
proper respect abroad. 

A neutral nation cannot with propriety interfere with any matter 
of dispute between foreign belligerent parties, nor can it furnish aid 
to either, without justly incurring the danger of the displeasure of the 
other. The propriety of a nation not directly involved in an existing 
war, in maintaining this position of strict impartiality, is manifest. It 
is protection and preservation both to our citizens and to our property. 

This has been the doctrine of all neutral powers ; and although for 
centuries disregarded by European governments, in violation not only 
of the well settled laws of nations, but also of highly penal statutes, 
it has ever been regarded by American statesmen as a cardinal ele- 
ment in American diplomacy. 

The benefits of a strict observance of neutrality are too great and 
too many to be enumerated in the trial of the issue which I am about 
to present to you. Suffice it to remark, that so great are those bene- 
fits, that from the beginning of our government we have considered 
it t.he duty of every resident in this country, whether minister pleni- 
potentiary, consul, or private citizen, to inquire into the character and 
extent of our laws upon this subject, and carefully to observe them. 

No one residing here has a right to violate the national sovereignty 
of the United States, by setting those laws at defiance, by the perpe- 
tration of acts derogatory to our character as an independent, impar- 
tial, neutral nation; ^,nd any neglect of this duty renders him ame- 
nable to the laws of the land. As an example of the early feeling of 
our government upon this subject, Mr. Y. read the proclamation of 
President Washington, in 1793, in relation to "the war then existing 
between Austria, Prussia, Sardinia, Great Britain, and the Nether- 
lands, on the one part, and France on the other ; stating that the duty 
and interest of the United States require that they should, with sin- 
cerity and good faith, adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impar- 
tial towards the belligerent powers. 

"I have, therefore, thought fit, by these presents, to declare the 
disposition of the United States to observe the conduct aforesaid 
towards those powers respectively, and to exhort and to warn the citi- 
zens of the United States carefully to avoid all acts and proceedings 
whatsoever, which may tend in any manner to contravene such dispo- 
sition. 

"And I do, hereby, also make known, that whosoever of the citizens 
of the United States shall render himself liable to punishment or for- 
feiture, by the laws of nations, by combatting, aiding, or abetting 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 347 

hostilities against any of the said powers, or by carrying to any of 
them those articles which are deemed contraband by the modern usage 
of nations, will not receive the protection of the United States against 
such punishment or forfeiture ; and further, that I have given instruc- 
tions to ihose officers to whom it belongs, to cause prosecutions to be 
instituted against all such persons who shall, within the cognizance 
of the courts of the United States, violate the laws of nations, with 
respect to the powers at war, or any of them/' 

The justice of the principles contained and proclaimed in this mes- 
sage no doubt produced, in 1794, the passage of the first law for the 
protection of our neutrality. 

That act is the same, in its principal features, as the English statute 
9 Geo. II, ch. 30, sec. 2; and 29, ch. 17, sec. 2. 

Mr. Van Dyke then referred to the various acts of Congress which 
had at different times been enacted for the purpose of imposing pun- 
ishment upon those who should violate the national sovereignty of 
the United States by interfering with the rights of belligerents. 

The act of June 5, 1794, ch. 50, punishes any citizens of the United 
States for accepting and exercising a commission to serve in any war, 
on land or at sea, in the service of any foreign prince or state ; and 
prohibits any person, within the territory or jurisdiction of the United 
States, enlisting or entering himself, or hiring or retaining another 
person to enlist or enter himself, or to go beyond the limits or juris- 
diction of the United States with the intent to be enlisted or entered 
in the service of any foreign prince or state as a soldier, or as a. mari- 
ner, or seamen, on board any vessel of war, letter of marqe, or priva- 
teer; and forbids the fitting out, or attempting the fitting out of 
ships-of-war within any of the waters of the United States, or pro- 
curing the same to be done. This act also forbids any person, within 
the territory of the United States, increasing or augmenting, or pro- 
curing the increase or augmentation, or knowingly being concerned 
therein, of the force of any ship-of-war, cruiser, or other armed vessel 
of any foreign prince or State, or belonging to the subject of any 
foreign prince or state, the same being at war with any other foreign 
prince or state with whom the United States are at peace. 

Sec. 5 prohibits all persons, within the territory or jurisdiction of 
the United States, to begin or set on foot, or provide or prepare the 
means for any military expedition or enterprise, to be carried on from 
thence against the territory or dominions of any foreign prince or 
state with whom the United States are at peace. 

Sec. 6 -makes the offence indictable in the district court of the 
United States. 

Sec. 7 authorizes the President of the United States to employ the 
armed forces of the United States to prevent the commission of the 
offences declared against by the neutrality laws of the United States. 

Sec. 8 authorizes the President to use the armed forces of the 
United States to compel the departure of any armed ship of any foreign 
prince, in all cases in which, by the laws of nations or the treaties of 
the United States, they ought not to remain in the United States. 

This act was to continue in force for two years, or until the next 



"348 • BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Congress thereafter. In 1*797 the act was further extended for the 
period of two years. 

On the 24th April, 1800, Congress, by an enactment, made the act 
-of 1794 perpetual. 

The next enactment was March 3, 1817, ch. 58, by which new pun- 
ishment and penalties were imposed for a violation of the provisions 
of the act of 1794. 

Mr. Y. said he referred only to the substance of these acts of Con- 
gress, without delaying the court to read from the books, because, 
having been repealed by the law under which the present bills of 
indictment are framed, they are important for two reasons only. 

1. They show in a most conclusive manner the policy of our gov- 
ernment in maintaining a strict neutrality on the international affairs 
of European powers. 

"Peace with all nations, entangling alliances with none," has ever 
been the motto, not only of the government, but of the people of this 
country. 

By adopting and strictly observing this just and fair policy, the 
United States has in times of intense political excitement, and bloody 
and disastrous warfare in other countries, cultivated peace with all 
nations, and secured at all times national repose and commercial 
prosperity at home, and respect abroad. By fulfilling, with a strict 
impartiality, our neutral responsibilities towards belligerent powers, 
we have in times past avoided the disasters which have befallen other 
free governments ; and by continuing so to do in the future, we will 
continue able to present to mankind an example of republican integ- 
rity worthy of imitation by the civilized world. 

2. They are important: because, from their peculiar similarity with 
the act of 1818, under which these defendants, now on trial, are in- 
dicted, we are enabled more fully to comprehend the meaning of the 
several judicial constructions which have been given to them, espe- 
cially in cases of prize, and to ascertain the bearing of such construc- 
tion upon the act of 1818. 

In 1818 the Congress of the United States felt the importance of 
remodelling the law upon the subject of American interference in dis- 
putes between foreign nations, and in an act passed on 20th April, 
which repeals all former laws upon the subject, adopted a most whole- 
some law, which, though varying somewhat from former enactments, 
is the same in all essential points. Mr. Van Dyke referred to this 
act at length. 

The defendants are indicted under the provisions of the second sec- 
tion of this act. The grand jury have found several bills of indict- 
ment against them for the various violations of this law, which seemed 
to them susceptible of the most easy proof. 

It will be observed that the crime mentioned in this section consists 
in the doing of various acts. You will be instructed by the court that 
you must be satisfied of certain propositions which it will be my duty 
to submit to your consideration. 

First. It will be necessary for the government to satisfy you that 
the act complained of was committed within the territory of the United 
States. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 349 

Second. That the defendants, or either of them, enlisted or entered 
himself, respectively, in the service of a foreign prince, state, colony, 
district or people, as a soldier, or as a mariner or seaman on board 
any vessel of war, letter of marque, or privateer. 

Third. That the defendants, or either of them, hired or retained 
another person to enlist or enter himself in such service 

Fourth. That the defendants, or either of them, hired or retained 
another person to go beyond the limits or jurisdiction of the United 
States, with the intent to be enlisted or entered in such service. 

Upon the first point I remark : that if from the evidence you 
are satisfied that the acts complained of were not committed within 
the limits of the United States, and also within the limits of the ju- 
risdiction of this court, which is bounded by those counties forming 
the eastern district of Pennsylvania, it will be your duty to acquit 
both the defendants on all the bills now laid before you. 

Upon this point, however, gentlemen, I think you will have no 
trouble. The evidence will be conclusive that whatever was done by 
the defendants was done within the eastern district of Pennsylvania. 

Upon the second point you are relieved from any inquiry, there- 
being no charge in the indictments that the defendants, or either of 
them, enlisted himself in any foreign service. 

Having found, however, the first point in favor of the government, 
your investigations will be directed to the third and fourth points of 
inquiry, viz: Did the defendants, or either of them, at the various- 
times specified in the various bills under consideration, hire or retain 
any or all of the persons mentioned to be enlisted or entered in a 
foreign service ; or did they hire or retain any or all of the persons 
mentioned in these bills to go beyond the limits of the United States, 
with the intent to be enlisted or entered in such foreign service? If 
either, or both, then you will find them, or either of them, guilty on 
such counts in the indictments as are applicable to the facts upon 
which you base your conclusions. 

The court,, I am of opinion, will inform you that the intent men- 
tioned in the act refers to the intention of the party, enlisted, hired, 
or retained. Not that such an intent must be an absolute determina- 
tion to enlist when arriving beyond the limits of the United States ; 
but the crime charged against the defendants being the hiring of 
some other persons, which other persons must have the intent, it is 
sufficient ground for conviction, if, from all the testimony, you are 
satisfied that the defendants, at the time they so hired or retained any- 
other person, believed it to be the bona-fide intention of the person so> 
hired or retained to enlist or enter such foreign service when he 
should arrive beyond the limits of the United States. Upon this point, 
however, gentlemen, you will have no difficulty upon many of the 
bills, as I shall be able to prove to your entire satisfaction — first, that 
the defendant Hertz thought the recruit had such intention ; and 
secondly, that the recruit did, in fact, agree to depart from our juris- 
diction with intent to enlist. 

Having thus briefly reviewed the political policy of our government^ 
and the law applicable to the present prosecution, permit me to call 
your attention to the facts as I shall be able to present them to your 



350 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

serious consideration. So far as applicable to the prosecution, they 
are easily understood. 

I have said that the war in the Crimea was conducted by the British, 
French, and other nations, as allies, against the single power of 
Russia. I have said that the consequences of that war had been 
disastrous to the besieging parties, and that the signs of the times 
indicated a still more humiliating fate. The English army having 
met the most serious losses, the government of G-reat Britain, in 
direct violation of her duty towards us, and with a design of mis- 
leading those residents of the United States who did not fully com- 
prehend the nature of our laws, devised a plan for the purpose of 
partially regaining the position and standing which, in the absence 
of the proper exercise of the advanced military experience of the age, 
they had lost. 

A plan for this purpose was adopted and attempted to be carried 
out, hj his excellency, John F. Crampton, the minister plenipoten- 
tiary of her Majesty, assisted by several agents of the British govern- 
ment, within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States ; and 
I think you will be satisfied that Mr. Cramption thus acted with the 
knowledge and approbation of his government. This high functionary 
of that government made contracts and agreements with certain per- 
sons, known in this country as able and efficient officers in the various 
conflicts which have recently taken place on the continent of Europe. 
The parties thus contracted with were to commence a system of re- 
cruiting men within our territorial limits. 

There will be examined before you two or three individuals who 
were engaged in carrying out this plan, and who on various occasions 
had interviews with Mr. Crampton, and with him adjusted and per- 
fected the programme for this enlistment. Mr. Howe, Sir G-aspard 
le Marchant, governor of Nova Scotia, Mr. Wilkins, his secretary, 
Mr. Barclay, the British consul at New York, and other British 
representatives in power, also assisted in and directed this flagrant 
violation of our law. 

In the perfecting of this general design, Mr. Howe came to Phila- 
delphia, and endeavored to make an arrangement with Colonel Rum- 
berg, well known here for many years as one of the publishers of the 
German Democrat, and now known as one of the editors of the Ger- 
man Adopted American, published in Philadelphia and Pottsville. 
Mr. Howe brought to this gentleman a proclamation, which will be 
submitted to you, calling for enlistments within the United States to 
serve in the foreign legion, then forming at Halifax. Colonel Rum- 
berg was at first pleased with the proposition, and felt disposed to lend 
his aid in its furtherance ; but afterwards, upon being informed that 
such enlistments were a violation of the laws of the United States, 
and that he might get into difficulties, he abandoned it. He however 
translated the proclamation for Mr. Howe, and, having met Mr. Hertz 
and Mr. Howe together at Jones' Hotel, he published the proclama- 
tion in his paper for Mr. Hertz. 

Arrangements were made by Mr. Howe and Mr. Crampton with 
the defendant Hertz, who, for them, undertook the enlistment of men 
at his office, which he opened for that purpose, at 68 South Third 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 351 

street. Mr. Hertz published and paid for the proclamation for these 
recruits in various newspapers. That proclamation was signed by 
Lewis M. Wilkins, secretary of the provincial government of Nova 
Scotia, and calls upon person to enlist in the foreign legion. 

While this matter was going on, Captain Strobel was either sent for 
by Mr. Crampton, or came himself to him — I do not recollect which — 
and entered into negotiations with him for carrying on this business. 
Mr. Crampton told Strobel that he had written to his home govern- 
ment for the purpose of learning what arrangements should be made 
in this country for enlisting soldiers, and had not yet received a reply ; 
but as soon as he received it he would let him know. A short time 
afterwards he wrote him a note, informing him that he had received 
the reply, and was prepared to enter into the proper arrangements for 
carrying on the enlistment. They met together, and Mr. Strobel 
prepared for him a plan which he had devised for the purpose of re- 
cruiting men in the United States, and taking them beyond our 
borders to serve in the " legion." The plan, with some alterations, 
was adopted by Mr. Crampton, and Mr. Strobel was sent through the 
large cities of the United States to establish various recruiting offices. 
I give the most prominent facts, merely running over them as briefly 
as possible. After having first gone to New York., he came to Phila- 
delphia and met Mr. Hertz, who was then engaged enlisting men in 
this city, and who had a number already enlisted. Mr. Hertz had, 
up to the 24th of March, one hundred men, whom Mr. Strobel was to 
take to Halifax ; and on the 25th of March they sailed in the steamer 
Delaware bound for that place. These men were enlisted at Hertz's 
office, No. 68 South Third street, whither the advertisements had 
called them. Mr. Strobel saw them there enlisted, and to a certain 
extent assisted in enlisting them ; and on Sunday, the 25th of March, 
he sailed in the steamer Delaware with about seventy- five men, the 
rest having deserted between the time of hiring or engagement and 
the time of sailing. These men were taken to Halifax by Captain 
Strobel, and there examined and attested ; were placed in the bar- 
racks, and a short time afterwards sailed for Portsmouth, England. 
On the following Wednesday Mr. Hertz had made an arrangement 
to send another company of recruits from the United States, in charge 
of a person named William Budd, a very intelligent and good officer, 
whom he had also engaged to go beyond the limits of the United 
States, with the intent of entering into the British service. The 
officers of the United States having learned that this recruiting was 
going on, devised, in pursuance of directions from the administration 
at Washington, the means for stopping it ; and after Mr. Budd, with 
his company, had embarked from Pine street, on board the steamer 
Sanford, being furnished by Mr. Hertz with free tickets for a passage 
to New York, where they were to get others from Mr. Howe to take 
them the rest of the journey, and had progressed as far as the navy 
yard, the U. S. marshal having a warrant, went on board and ar- 
rested the whole company and brought them to Philadelphia, where 
the parties who had assisted them, together with the papers in their 
office were taken in charge. 

That Mr. Hertz was engaged in wilfully violating the law is proVed 



352 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

by several circumstances connected with the case. He had the pro- 
clamation, in the shape of a handbill, printed and posted in the streets 
of Philadelphia, and paid for publishing the proclamation in the 
Ledger and Pennsylvanian. He took an advertisement to the German 
Democrat, which called for recruits for the foreign legion, and had an 
office opened, and individuals there to assist him in taking down the 
names of those who applied, and examining them to see if they would 
be received. He there told them that they would get thirty dollars 
bounty and eight dollars a month, and also stated that various per- 
sons would receive commissions. He also gave them tickets for their 
passage to New York, some of which tickets were taken from those 
arrested, and will be produced. During the whole of his enlistment, 
the defendant Hertz was actively engaged in procuring men for that 
purpose. 

Arrests having been made in all parts of the United States, of per- 
sons engaged in this business, the representatives of her Majesty in 
this country became somewhat alarmed as to the results. Mr. Cramp- 
ton then made arrangements with Mr. Strobel and one Dr. Euess, 
who met him at Halifax, and devised plans as to the manner in which 
the recruiting was thereafter to be conducted in the United States ; 
and on the 15th of May, or thereabouts, the whole programme of 
proceedings was changed by his excellency the British minister and 
Sir Gaspard le Marchant, governor of Nova Scotia. They then de- 
vised a new plan of violating the national sovereignty of the United 
States, and of evading our laws enforcing neutrality — not a very 
praiseworthy occupation within the borders of a friendly government, 
for the dignified representative of the self-styled mistress of the seas ; 
but it was an occupation which, if permitted by our people, might have 
destroyed the most amicable and friendly relations which exist, and 
which I trust may ever continue, between the United States and the 
Kussian government. Mr. Crampton and his associate representives 
of Great Britain on this continent gave directions to Captain Strobel 
to repair immediately to all the recruiting offices in the United States, 
and order the persons engaged in those offices to adopt the system 
which they had prepared for the guidance of the recruiting agents ; 
giving to these agents at the same time a caution, that should they 
be unsuccessful in evading the laws and alluding the authorities of the 
United States, they could hope for no protection from the British 
government ; that is, the British government was willing to accept 
the advantage of the successful criminal conduct of all their minister 
and his recruiting agents, but refuse to defend or assist those agents 
if they should be so unfortunate as to be detected. Honorable and 
generous Great Britain ! and oh ! most faithful British Ministers ! ! 

The ruse then adopted was to send men to Canada and Halifax, 
under the pretence of engaging them on the railroad, and when there 
to enlist them in the army. For the purpose of carrying out this 
object, regular written instructions were given by Mr. Crampton to 
Mr. Strobel, who, with Dr. Buess and other officers, started in com- 
pany with Mr. Crampton to the United States. Some of these officers 
afterwards left the service of her Majesty, and, as was their duty, have 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 353 

since expressed their willingness to disclose all their knowledge in 
support of the prosecutions which have been commenced. 

The active connexion and co-operation of nearly all the representa- 
tives of her Majesty in this general design, will he made clear to you 
by unimpeached testimony. I think I can say with confidence that 
his excellency John F. Crampton, minister extraordinary, &c, his 
excellency Sir Gaspard le Marchant, governor of Nova Scotia, his 
excellency Sir Edmund Head, governor of Canada, Sir Joseph Howe, 
Lewis M. Wilkins, provincial secretary of Nova Scotia, and at least 
one British consul, directed this course of conduct. All these gentle- 
men, it will be in evidence to you, have, with Mr. Hertz, the defend- 
ant, taken an active part in directing the commission of the crime 
charged ; and whether or not by a bold attempt to disguise their real 
object, is a matter of very little importance. 

The oral testimony of the witnesses will, in some most material and 
important facts, be corroborated by written documents. I shall be 
able to produce to you some five or six original letters and notes of 
Mr. Crampton, and also the original instructions to the agents, as to 
the mode in which the enlistments were to be conducted in the United 
States. You will also have in evidence the original proclamation or 
advertisement in the handwriting of Sir Joseph Howe, inviting per- 
sons to enlist in the foreign legion, as well as several other letters and 
papers of considerable importance on the points in issue. 

I take it, gentlemen, briefly to conclude what I have to say to you 
at this stage of the proceedings, that if I show that either or both of 
these defendants, in conformity with this general design of the British 
government, were engaged in thus enlisting, or hiring or retaining 
any person to be enlisted, I have made out a clear case. I am free 
to admit that the evidence against one of the defendants is not of the 
most conclusive character, he not being known as being positively en- 
gaged in enlisting, hiring, or retaining any particular person, 
although he was in talking and giving directions on the subject. The 
court will instruct you how far a person must go in order to commit 
this crime, and whether the fact of Perkins sending a man to Hertz, 
for Hertz to enlist him, constituted a crime on the part of Perkins. 

I shall prove to you distinctly, by unimpeachable evidence, that all 
the persons mentioned in all' these bills have been enlisted by the 
defendant Hertz, in the first place in the service of her Most Gracious 
Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, and, if not enlisted within the 
jurisdiction of the United States, that he has hired and retained each 
and every one of these individuals, and many more, to go beyond 
that jurisdiction, to wit : to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, for the purpose 
of being there enlisted in a foreign legion destined for the Crimea, to 
engage in the battles of the allies. If I prove these facts, I can safely 
ask at your hands a verdict against him for one of the most flagrant 
violations of the national sovereignty of this country which has ever 
been known to have been perpetrated within its borders. First, a 
violation of our law ; second, a violation of the confidence reposed in 
a high representative functionary ; and thirdly, a violation of the 
sympathies, and a national insult to the sentiments and the feeling of 
our people. 

23 a 



354 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Max F. 0. Strobel, sworn. 

After the witness was sworn, Mr. Kemak desired the district attor- 
ney to state distinctly what he intended to prove by him. 

Mr. Van Dyke said he had no objection to doing so, but he thought 
it would occupy too much time. 

Judge Kane said that he preferred that the witness should be ex- - 
amined in the first instance, without being distinctly apprized of all 
the facts about which he was to testify. 

Examination by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Of what country are you ? 

A. I am from Bavaria. 

Q. Have you been in military service ? 

A. Yes, sir, in the Bavarian service, in the artillery. 

Q. Have you ever been in war ? 

A. Yes, sir, I have joined the revolutionists in Bavaria. 

Q. In 1848? 

A. During the revolution in the year 1849. 

Q. How did you happen to leave the service? 

A. Well, we were defeated, and obliged to leave Baden and go into 
Switzerland ; then I stopped there, and travelled through France and 
England until 1851. On the 13th of May, 1851, I embarked at 
Havre and came to this country, and arrived here in June, 1851. On 
the 23d of June, 1851, I came to this country ; I was in New York 
several weeks, and then went to Washington, and there got em- 
ployment in the Coast Survey Office. I was there until 1853, when 
I went out with the expedition to Oregon, under Governor Stevens. 
I went up with him to Minnesota ; I left his party out on the plains 
on Ked river, and came back to Minnesota on the 7th of September, 
1853, and came down to St. Louis, and started with Col. Fremont on 
his winter expedition to San Francisco about this great Pacific rail- 
road ; I have been assistant topographical engineer of Col. Fremont ; 
I left San Francisco on the first of May, 1854 ; I crossed the isthmus 
and came back with our Indians, and brought them up to Kansas 
again. From there I went back to Washington city, where I finished 
the maps for the works of Col. Fremont, which I suppose are now 
before Congress. 

Q. When did you finish the maps ? 

A. I finished them in the end of August, 1854. I then received a 
letter of recommendation from Mr. Benton to the different directors of 
railroads to secure me a position as engineer. I went with this recom- 
mendation or letter of introduction to Missouri. I took sick there, 
and was obliged to leave the valley of the Mississippi and come back 
to Washington city. When I came back to Washington I was en- 
gaged in the Pacific railroad office, at that time established in Wash- 
ington, and was at work there until the first of February. In the end 
of January I saw Mr. Crampton, and received from Mr. Crampton 
the reply. 

Q. State the whole conversation which took place between you and 
Crampton. 

A. I received from Crampton the reply that he could not tell me 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 355 

at that moment what could be done. I said to Crampton that I "be- 
lieved in this very time, as it was in the winter time. 

Q. Last winter? 

A. Yes, sir ; that many people were out of work in New York and 
other places, and it would be very easy to raise men for this "foreign 
legion" that the English Parliament had agreed to establish. Cramp- 
ton told me that he believed so himself, but at that moment he had 
no orders from the home government to do any thing in the matter, 
and that he would let me know as soon as he received any communi- 
cation from home. A few days afterwards, I suppose on the 28th of 
February, I received a letter from Mr. Crampton, 

Q. Is this the letter? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And this the envelope in which it was enclosed? 

A. Yes, sir. t 

The letter was here read in evidence as follows : 

" Washington, February 4, 1855. 

"Sir: With reference to our late conversation, I am now able to 
give you more precise information in regard to the subject to which it 
related. I remain, sir, your obedient servant, 

"JOHN F. CRAMPTON. 

"Mr. MaxStrobel." 

After receiving this letter, I went to see Mr. Crampton the next 
morning ; Mr. Crampton told me that he had received letters from 
home, and that he was willing now to raise men here in the jurisdic- 
tion of the United States for a British foreign legion, which should 
be established either in Nova Scotia or in Canada. 

Q. Did he use the words "within the jurisdiction of the United 



A. Yes, within the jurisdiction of the United States. 

Q, He used those precise words, »did he? 

A. Yes, sir ; but he was not sure at that time whether the main 
depot should be at Halifax or in Canada, and he was obliged to mate 
arrangements with the governor-general of Canada. At the very 
same time he gave me a letter of introduction to the British consul in 
New York, Mr. Barclay, in which he states that I am already ac- 
quainted with this matter, and that Mr. Barclay might receive me 
and talk with me about this subject, and that I should make prepa- 
rations in New York for getting men. He told me at the very 
same time he would send a messenger to the governor-general of 
Canada. I went to New York and delivered my letter to Mr. 
Barclay. 

Q. What was this messenger sent for ? 

A. To arrange matters about a depot or place where we could send 
these men whom we got here in the States. I was waiting in New 
York for the return of this messenger for several weeks. The mes- 
senger returned, and was sent again, and no understanding could be 
made between Sir Edmund Head and Mr. Crampton, (Head is gov- 
ernor-general of Canada ;) because, during that time, the governor of 



356 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Nova Scotia had received orders from England to commence a new 
depot at Halifax, and to try and get men in the United States for ' 
this service. 

Q. The arrangement was not made by the messenger sent to Canada 
to Sir Edmund Head, because he had received a letter from the gov- 
ernor of Nova Scotia, stating that he had received orders from Eng- 
land to make Halifax the depot ? 

A. Yes., sir. The reason for sending all the men to Halifax was 
the order that the governor of Nova Scotia received from England. 
During that time I went back to Philadelphia. It was on the 10th 
or 11th of March, 1855, when I came back to Philadelphia. I 
learned from a friend of mine — a certain Dr. Biell, who is now regi- 
mental surgeon in this foreign legion — that Mr. Hertz had received 
letters — one from England, another one from Mr. Crampton, though 
I do not know positively ; I am not certain where it was from — and that 
he had spoken to this Dr. Biell, and told him he was able to procure 
him a commission in this foreign legion. 

Q. In consequence of what Dr. Biell told you, state what you did? 

A. I went to Hertz and had a conversation with Hertz about this 
matter. 

Q. Where was he? 

A. He was in his office, No. 68 South Third street, opposite the 
Exchange. I saw then Mr. Hertz, and from that time (9 o'clock a. m.) 
I was with Mr. Hertz until 3 o'clock p. m., where, in pursuance of 
the advertisements, men came and wrote their names down on a book, 
and agreed to enter the foreign legion at Halifax. 

Q. Have you ever seen a bill like this? 

A. I have seen this handbill. 

Q. Where? 

A. In Mr. Hertz's office. 

[The bill was here read in evidence. It reads as follows:] 

"MEN WANTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE. 
(Arms of Great Britain, with mottoes.) 

" Peovtjstctal Secretary's Office, 

Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 15, 1855. 

" The lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia having been employed to 
embody a foreign legion, and to raise British regiments for service in 
the provinces or abroad, notice is hereby given that all able-bodied men 
between the ages of 19 and 40, on applying at the depot in Halifax, 
will receive a bounty of £6 sterling, (equal to $30,) and, on being 
enrolled, will receive $8 per month, with the clothing, quarters, and 
other advantages to which British soldiers are entitled. 

" Preference will be given to men who have already seen service. 

" The period of enlistment will be from three to five years, at the 
option of the British government. 

" Officers who have served will be eligible for commissions. Gentle- 
men who wish to come into the province will please lodge their names, 
rank, date of service, &c, at the office. 

" Persons who serve in the foreign legion will, on the expiration of 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 357 

their term, be entitled to a free passage to America, or to the country 
of their birth. 

" Pensions or gratuities, for distinguished services in the field, will 
be given. 

' ' Nova Scotian and other shipmasters who may bring into this 
province poor men willing to serve her Majesty, will be entitled to 
receive the cost of a passage for each man shipped from Philadelphia, 
New York, or Boston. • 

"By command : 

s " LEWIS M. WILKINS, 

' ' Provincial Secretary . ' ' 

Q. (Another bill here shown to witness.) Have you ever seen this 
bill? 

A. I have, in Detroit. 

[The bill was here read in evidence. It read as follows :] 

''NOTICE. 

" A foreign legion is now being raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 
Persons wishing to join the legion will receive a bounty of £6 sterling, 
or $30 ; from which a deduction of $5, for travelling expenses to Nova 
Scotia, will be made. Besides good rations and quarters, men will 
receive $8 a month as pay. 

"" The period of enlistment is three or Jive years, at the option of the 
applicant. 

"For extraordinary service in the field, or wounds, bounties and 
pensions for lipe will be granted. Besides which, there is now a pro- 
ject in view, and which will undoubtedly be carried out, to give to 
each soldier, at the expiration of his term of service, fifty acres, and 
to each non-commissioned officer one hundred acres of land in Canada. 

" All who are inclined to enter the service under the foregoing very 
favorable conditions, are hereby invited to apply at Niagara City, 
Butler barracks, or at the Windsor Castle, Windsor, C. W." 

Q. (Another bill shown witness.) Did you ever see this bill? 

A. Yes, sir ; I had that printed in Detroit. 

Mr. Van Dyke. It is a German bill. 

Mr. Remak. The paper was printed to the order of the witness. 

Judge Kane. The paper now presented is part of the general trans- 
action, which does not directly affect the person on trial. It is like 
the letter of Mr. Crampton which was read a short time ago, and is a 
portion of the general narrative. 

Question by Mr. Van Dyke. Is that a true translation attached to 
the German handbill? 

A. Yes, sir. 

[The translation was here read in evidence. It read as follows :] 

11 NOTICE. 

" In Halifax, Nova Scotia, a foreign legion will be formed. Every 
one who will enter into this legion, which is for the most part com- 
posed of Germans, and has German officers, is entitled to a bounty of 
£6 sterling, or $80 ; from which, however, $5 for travelling expenses 
to Nova Scotia will be taken off. 

» 



358 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

" Moreover, everj man will receive full and good maintenance, be- 
sides $8 a month pay. 

" The time of service is according to pleasure, 3 or 5 years. 

" For extraordinary services in the field, or wounds, bounties and 
pensions for the whole lifetime will be given. It is also truly in pros- 
pect, that every soldier, on the running out of his time of service, 
will obtain 50 acres, and every non-commissioned officer 100 acres of 
land in Canada, as his own property. 

"Every one who is disposed to fall in with these conditions is 
hereby notified to repair to the Niagara barrack, not far from Queens- 
town, Canada West, at the depot there established." 

Q. You say you went to Mr. Hertz, and you saw the recruits sign 
the book there ; look at that book, and say if that is it ? 

A. That is the book. 

Q. Where did you see that book? 

A. At Mr. Hertz's office. 

Q. Did you see any of the parties signing it? 

A. Yes, sir, [looking at the book] there is the handwriting of some 
men. 

Q. Will you read me the names of the men you saw sign ? 

A. The names of the officers were cut out. 

Q. Do you recollect the name of Joseph Purnell? 

A. Yes, sir; I recollect the names of all the men in my company. 

Q. Go on and state what you did after the men enlisted. 

A. After we had more than 100 men, we gave them cards, and told 
them we would be ready to start on Sunday, the 25th of March, 1855, 
on the steamer Delaware, in the morning, for New York. 

Q. What did you tell, or Hertz tell, these men ? If you told them 
anything, what was the understanding ? 

A. The understanding was, that those men who signed this book — 

Judge Kane. Was the understanding announced in the presence of 
Mr. Hertz ? 

Witness. Yes, sir ; in the presence of Mr. Hertz the men were told 
that there was a foreign legion now established at Halifax, and that 
Mr. Hertz would send them to Halifax, to the foreign legion, to enlist 
in it ; every man that is well, and able-bodied, and willing to enlist 
in this foreign legion, shall have a free passage, and $30 bounty, and 
$8 a month pay ; and the men who agreed to be attached to this 
foreign legion signed this very book. 

Q. Who said that they should sign that book ? 

A. Mr. Hertz ; and they signed this book with the understanding 
to go to Halifax and enlist in the foreign legion ; and it was also told 
to those men that an officer should go in their company, and I was 
called captain of those men before I started, and was introduced to 
them, before we started, as their captain ; I was to take that company. 
I recollect Palattre and Purnell very well. 

Mr. Yan Dyke here asked the witness whether he recollected the 
names of the various persons who composed his company ? when he 
replied, that he remembered the following, besides some sixty more 
whose names he did not recollect : 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 359 

F. P. Grarrier, Jacob Branning, Frederick Fuss, HughKillen, Fred. 
Ferdinand Bostandig, Emanuel Urnheart, Edward Bollun, Carl 
Muhlenhausen, John Schaeffold, Petrus Pauls, John Kcelomus, Jacob 
Blecher, Foley Worrell, Budolph Charles Buth, Peter Kopert, Ed. 
Dobeller, Jacob Both, Pierce Pelattre, Joseph Purnell, G-ustav. 
Prothe, Grunther Leopold Neisbaum, Wilhelm Heinrich, Karl Alten- 
berg, Karl Barthold, Johann Baumiescher, F. Ulrich. 

Q. .Were all these persons in your company? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How many more went with you? 

A. Well, I started from here with about 75 or 76 men, and two 
ofhcers, Lieutenant Essen and Lieutenant Schumann, on the steamer 
Delaware, to New York. 

Q. When did you leave here? 

A. On Sunday, the 25th of March, early in the morning, and ar- 
rived in New York on Monday morning about five o'clock. 

Q. Well, sir, when you got in New York what did you do ? 

A. I came to New York in the morning at five o'clock, and left my 
men on board the boat, as I was not furnished with means enough, 
as I had received only some money from Hertz. I had received tick- 
ets and $25 to go on to New York, and 1 was there to receive more 
money. 

Q. Was that money given you for the purpose of taking this com- 
pany on ? 

A. Certainly; and I was to receive further means in New York to 
take the men on to Halifax. 

Q. When you got to New York what did you do ? 

A. I went to see Mr. Barclay, the British consul at New York ; and 
when I got there, Mr. Barclay sent me to Delmonico's to see Mr. 
Howe. The Hon. Joseph Howe was, at that time, agent from the 
British government in this recruiting business in the States. He 
was living at Delmonico's. I saw Mr. Bucknell, not Howe. He 
told me I should be furnished with means as early as possible before 
10 o'clock ; I had to divide the men in different taverns, and keep 
them together there for three days. At last I was furnished with 
tickets and means to start with these men for Boston, where an En- 
glish brig, the America, was waiting there to receive us and take us 
on board to take us to Halifax. Mr. Hertz, in the presence of Mr. 
Bucknell and Mr. Turnbull, told me this. 

Q. How did Mr. Hertz get to New York, if you left him in Phila- 
delphia when you sailed ? 

A. I travelled with the boat, and Mr. Hertz took the railroad. Mr. 
Howe or Bucknell was to be applied to to let me have the necessary 
means to go on with the company. I received this money in New 
York, through Mr. Hertz, at the beginning of the day, and, before I 
started, some from Mr. Bucknell. I left New York on the Stonington 
road, and came to Boston. I arrived there about five o'clock in the 
morning with all the men, and found this brig, the America, ready 
to take us on board and bring us to Halifax. I embarked my men. 

Q. Did you get this money from Hertz, or Howe? 

A. No, sir ; from Mr. Bucknell. 



360 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. Did you see Howe in New York? 

A. I saw Howe in New York at the time, and received a letter from 
Mr. Howe to Sir Gaspard le Marchant. I told him I had so many 
men in town, and wanted some money, and that I wanted tickets and 
a letter to Sir Graspard le Marchant. 

Q. JThe tickets you got in Philadelphia only carried you to New 
York, on the steamer Delaware, then? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And you went to Howe and told him you wanted tickets, and a 
letter to the governor, and some money ? 

A. He gave me a letter, and Mr. Hertz and Bucknell gave me the- 
money. 

Q. Who was Bucknell? 

A. He was a civil engineer. 

Q. Was he with Mr. Howe? 

A. He was with Mr. Howe, hut I do not know whether he was en- 
gaged hy Howe only for the purposes of this business or not ; I made 
the acquaintance of Bucknell only a few days before ; I saw Mr. Hertz 
in New York at the time ; Hertz told me I was to go on as soon as 
possible. I was anxious to get the men away from New York, and 
he promised to see Howe and get money ; he kept me twenty-four 
hours trying to get money; he gave me the money, subsequently 
getting it from Howe; I embarked from pier B, in New York, and 
went on the Stonington road to Boston ; I got there at five o'clock, 
and went round with all my men to the T-wharf, in Boston, and 
found there the vessel which I was promised I would find. 

Q. Who promised you ? 

A. Mr. Bucknell. When I came to this vessel it was in the morn- 
ing, between 6 and 7. I embarked my men at once ; -I gave them 
breakfast, and started at half-past 8 o'clock for Halifax, and arrived 
there on the 30th of March. When I came to Halifax, the vessel 
went into a private wharf, and I was put on shore to report myself to 
the provincial secretary and Sir Graspard le Marchant. 

Q. Who was provincial secretary? 

A. Mr. Wilkins. 

Q. Is he the man who signs this proclamation? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Lewis M. Wilkins ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. When you got to the wharf, you went on shore to report your- 
self to Wilkins ? 

A. I did so. The vessel was ordered to the royal wharf, and 
during that time I met some regimental surgeons and some officers 
of the 76th regiment, some of the artillery. Afterwards Sir Gaspard 
le Marchant, governor of Nova Scotia, himself, came to the T-wharf. 

Judge Kane. The < ' T-wharf ? " 

Witness. The " Queen's wharf." He ordered me to file the com- 
pany in, and show them; I did so, and Sir Graspard le Marchant, 
with other officers, passed along by the men, and inspected the men ; 
I introduced these two men I had with me as lieutenants ; they were 
received by the officers as officers ; and I received an order from le 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 361 

Marchant to march the men up to the hospital to have them exam- 
ined, and afterwards to march them out to Melville island to have 
them attested. I marched them up to the hospital, and they were 
there examined, and two or three men rejected, and one kept back as 
sick. All the others I marched out to Melville island. There they 
had the British barracks and barracks erected for the foreign legion ; 
there the men were attested. After the man is enlisted, he has to be 
attested and sworn as a soldier. 

Judge Kane. What is attesting? 

Witness. There is a judge comes to the quarters of the soldiers, 
and then the officer is there, and the judge swears the soldiers in ; 
that is the act of attesting. 

Q. What is the form of the oath? 

A. The form of the oath is, that we swear to serve her Majesty the 
Queen of England for a time — three or five years, or so many years as 
the soldiers agree upon ; in this case, the agreement was for three or 
five years, faithfully, and so on. 

Q. That is the form of the oath ? 

A. Yes, sir ; that is the oath they administered to each of those 
men. ' 

Judge Kane. Is there any writing precedes it ? 

A. It is not in writing, it is a printed form ; it is signed by the judge, 
and afterwards by witnesses ; I signed nearly all of them. 

Q. Is it signed by the recruit? 

A. Yes, sir ; it is signed by the recruit. After the men had been 
attested, I commenced the drill, and bye-and-bye the men received 
clothing and arms ; I was at Melville island, at the officers' quarters, 
with the other two officers and Dr. Biell, until the 10th of May ; I was 
entered on the army list, as were the other officers, and we received 
our pay and were treated as officers ; on the 9th or 11th of May Mr, 
Crampton himself came up to Halifax, in order to make better ar- 
rangements about this recruiting business, as many men had been 
arrested in the States and kept back ; on the 13th of May I received a 
letter from Lieutenant Preston, of the 76th. 

Q. (Letter shown witness.) Do you recollect this paper? 

A. That is the letter of Mr. Preston, in Halifax, when he told me 
that Mr. Crampton wanted to see me. 

Q. Who is Mr. Preston? 

A. Mr. Preston is lieutenant in the 76th regiment — the officer who 
has charge of the barracks in Niagara. 

The note was read as follows : 

"Tuesday, May 13, Halifax. 

"Dear Strobel : I am directed by the general to acquaint you that 
Mr. Crampton wants to see you at his house, at 10 o'clock to-morrow 
morning ; be punctual. If you like, come up to my house at half-past 
9 o'clock, and we will go together. 

"Yours, truly, 

"J. W. PRESTON, 

"76*A Regiment." 



362 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. Where was lie at the time? 

A. At the time he was at the fort in Halifax with his regiment ; 
the letter stated that Mr. Crampton wished to see me at his quarters 
at 10 o'clock on Sunday ; I went to see Crampton, and there I found 
Sir Gaspard le Marchant ; I went there with Preston, and I was 
ordered by Mr. Crampton to make a plan out for him, in writing, to 
go to the United States — that is, to those cities of the United States 
which lie on the boundary-line, such as Buffalo, Eochester Cleveland, 
Toledo, Detroit, Oswego, and others ; I wrote a plan for him ; I said 
that I would want so many officers, and for every officer a non-com- 
missioned officer. 

Judge Kane. Does the plan affect the parties on trial ? 

Mr. Van Dyke. I think so ; it was after arrests had taken place 
in some of the western cities that the British minister determined to 
change the plan of enlistment in the States; and this witness says 
that, in pursuance of that determination, he received a letter from 
Lieutenant Preston to call at the quarters of Mr. Crampton ; he called 
there, and Mr. Crampton told him that there had been some difficulty 
about the recruits, and wished him (Strobel) to prepare another plan, 
which, if adopted, would avoid that difficulty ; he prepared this plan 
and submitted it to Mr. Crampton, and, if I understand it, the wit- 
ness will say that the plan was adopted by him with some little varia- 
tion, and the recruiting was carried on in the United States in accord- 
ance with this remodelled plan. 

Judge Kane. By either of these defendants in accordance with this 
plan ? 

Mr. Van Dyke. If I may be permitted to anticipate the defence, 
which must be done more or less in every case, it will be, 1 suppose, 
the same as made before the commissioner in relation to Budd's com- 
pany — that the men enlisted in Philadelphia, in that company, as the 
defendants allege, were nothing more or less than a set of men en- 
gaged to work on the railroad in Nova Scotia. We intend to show, by 
this, that Hertz, in so representing, was but carrying out the remodelled 
plan adopted more effectually by Mr. Crampton at Halifax. I shall 
show also, by other witnesses, that at a period subsequent to that of 
which the witness now speaks, and after the defendants were arrested, 
the defendant Hertz engaged one Baron Van Schwatzenhorn and one 
Baron Schuminsky to carry on the enlisting business in Philadelphia, 
and that another company was enlisted by such agents of Hertz in a 
manner proposed by the remodelled plan. 

Mr. Kemak, in reply, stated that the witness had sworn that Hertz 
requested him to do certain things, and whatever resulted from that 
alleged fact was admissible. Mr. Strobel had given evidence in re- 
gard to drawing a plan, but he had not sworn that Hertz commis- 
sioned him to devise or draw that plan. He might have been requested 
by Mr. Crampton to draw the plan, but the counsel for the defence 
could not see how that could affect, for the present, his client. He 
could not be responsible for the acts of Strobel, after Strobel had done 
what he requested of him ; and if he went beyond what was requested, 
he did it on his own responsibility. 

Judge Kane. The evidence taken in connexion with the offer of 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 363 

tlie district attorney is admissible entirely as it stands, in the same 
category with evidence originally given by him of concert of the 
officer with the British government. If it is not brought home to 
either of the parties on trial by subsequent evidence, of course it will 
not aifect them. 

Mr. Van Dyke. I do not wish my offer to be misapprehended by the 
counsel for the defence in any particular. I state distinctly to the 
court that I have evidence to show that there was a regular game 
jjlayed by her Majesty's envoy to evade the law; that these men were 
seemingly engaged to work on a railroad, but in reality enlisted to 
serve in the foreign legion, and that they were told by Hertz, if any 
person questioned them, to reply that they had been engaged to work 
on a railroad in Nova Scotia. I have, for the prosecution, to establish 
certain important facts: one is, that the sending of these men to Nova 
Scotia was for the purpose of their being enlisted in the foreign 
legion, and their sending them there as workmen on a railroad was 
a specious disguise, under which they hoped to evade the law of this 
country. If I show that this was their intention, it is certainly evi- 
dence, and the crime is proved, notwithstanding their attempt at 
evasion. 

Judge Kane. The evidence is admissible. 

Q. Did you prepare that plan ? 

A. 1 prepared it. 

Q. (Showing a paper.) Is that it? 

A. Yes, sir; it is my own handwriting; it is the plan. 

Q. Was this submitted to Mr. Crampton? 

A. Not this one. This was the copy I first made. I afterwards 
made a clear copy of it, which was submitted. 

Q. This, then, is the original copy, of which a clear copy was made 
and submitted to Mr. Crampton? 

A. Yes, sir. 

The paper was here read in evidence, as follows : 

"I have the honor to inform his excellency the envoy extraordinary 
of G-reat Britain in the United States, and his excellency Sir Gaspard 
le Marchant, the governor of Nova Scotia, of the plan I have adopted 
to raise the greatest possible number of men in several different cities 
of the United States on the boundaries of Canada. 

"I wish to station in Buffalo Lieutenant Schuman with Corporal 
Eoth. 

"In Detroit, Dr. Beuss with Corporal Kamper. 

"In Cleveland, Dr. Aschenfeldt with Sergeant Krieger. 

"Opposite to Detroit, Sergeant Barchet shall receive the individuals 
sent by Dr. Reuss, and his duty will be to send them, as fast as they 
arrive, by railroad to Queenstown, where a depot must be established, 
and a magistrate appointed to enlist and attest the men ; and it will 
be the business of the commanding officer of this depot, when a suffi- 
cient number is together, to send them by steamboat wherever his ex- 
cellency may decide. Those officers stationed at the above-mentioned 
cities will strictly follow the instructions given to them, through me, 
from his excellency, in regard to the manner and way to be used in 
encouraging and sending such individuals who are willing or desirous 



364 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

of leaving the United States to enlist in the British service. My in- 
tention in giving to each commissioned officer a non-commissioned 
officer as assistant, is to enable those gentlemen to find out said indi- 
viduals, and to avoid the necessity of employing, for this purpose, 
strangers, who might easily deceive them. 

"My opinion is, that every officer, with the assistance of his non- 
commissioned officer, will be able to transact all the business without 
being compelled to hire regular agents or runners — that is, if the gen- 
tlemen know the proper way of managing. 

" I will myself visit each of the places mentioned, and will particu- 
larly confine myself to where my presence will be most required. I 
shall also probably visit Chicago, where, doubtless, a great number 
of men may be got. We can then agree on reasonable terms for hav- 
ing them conveyed by railroad to Detroit, which expense, in my opin- 
ion, would not exceed $2 50 per head. 

"I saw all the officers and non-commissioned officers yesterday 
evening, and held a long conversation with them ; the result of which, 
is, that we all perfectly understand each other ; that they are all en- 
tirely satisfied, and that every one is willing to do his very best in 
regard to this matter. 

"I have also made estimates of all the expenses of the officers con- 
nected with this matter, for the period of one month, at their different 
points of destination, including their travelling expenses, which I take 
the liberty of laying before your excellencies : 

" Say the travelling expenses of the officers from this place 

to their different stations, £10 sterling each $400 00 

"To Schumann, Aschenfeldt, and Eeuss, each $240 per 

month 720 00 

" [From this money each has to pay his non-commission- 
ed officer, and to meet all other expenses that may be ne- 
cessary in sending the men over on the Canadian side; pay of 
temporary agents, runners, and tavern-keepers, included.] 
"Pay for Weiss, Barchet, and other non-commissioned 

officers, $100 each 300 00 

" My travelling expenses from town to town, hotel ex- 
penses, pay of my non-commissioned officer, and his 
travelling expenses 300 00 



1,720 00 



" Thus making a total amount of $1,720, equal to £344 sterling. 

" This, or at most £360, would, in my opinion, be the amount re- 
quisite to enable ten officers to carry on operations for one month, and, 
with reasonable good fortune, to deliver on che Canadian shore a large 
number of serviceable able-bodied men. 

"I have the honor to remain, your excellencies' most obedient, 
humble servant." 

Q. Was that plan adopted? 

A. That is the plan which was approved and adopted by Mr. Cramp- 
ton and Sir Gaspard le March^nt, and I received orders to bring next 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 365 

morning, at 11 o'clock, the officers mentioned there, four non-com- 
missioned officers of my company, all attested men, and the soldiers to 
the provincial building, and meet there Sir Gaspard le Marchant and 
Mr. Crampton. I went there with those men; I met there Mr. 
Crampton, Sir Gaspard le Marchant, and Lieutenant Preston ; I was 
ordered to leave Halifax immediately and repair to the States, and I 
left Halifax in company with Mr. Crampton and Preston of the 76th, 
with officers and non-commissioned officers ; when I saw Mr. Cramp- 
ton there I was in uniform, and my non-commissioned officers were in 
uniform ; when we left they received civil clothes from the govern- 
ment there for this purpose and went on with me ; when we came to 
Portland, Mr. Crampton gave me orders to go with him to Quebec to 
see Mr. Head, the governor-general of Canada, to have a perfect un- 
derstanding about the depot and the means of sending men through 
Canada to Nova Scotia ; I went with him ; I saw Sir Edmund Head 
in the presence of Mr. Crampton ; I received letters from Sir Edmund 
Head to get barracks at Niagara ; these barracks were to receive the 
men who were sent out of the States to enlist in I he foreign legion ; 
I received also at Sir Edmund's house — 

Judge Kane. I am anxious not to go beyond the limit of courtesy 
to a foreign government. I do not wish to penetrate what was done 
there, unless it appears connected with the persons now on trial. The 
district attorney must guide the witness after this suggestion, so as to 
avoid the appearance of too close an inquiry into matters not clearly 
before this court as matters of judicial investigation. 

Mr. Van Dyke. I understand the suggestion of the court, and will 
try to keep the witness within the proper bounds. My whole object 
is to get the general plan of operations, and then to show that the ob- 
ject of the general plan was to procure men from the States to join 
this foreign legion, and that the defendant co-operated in that general 
plan. 

Q. (Paper shown.) Will you look at that paper and state what it is? 

A. It is the instructions I received at Quebec, in Sir Edmund 
Head's house, out of Mr. Crampton' s own hands. The original was 
written in Mr. Crampton's own handwriting, and was written, at least 
part of it, in my presence in his room. This is a copy made from the 
original ; I made it for the purpose of preserving a copy. The ori- 
ginal I gave back, in a report I made to Sir Gaspard le Marchant, in 
Halifax. That report stated what I had done, to clear me of two charges 
made against me up there. 

Q. That, then, is a copy made from the original instructions of 
Crampton, as to your duty in the United States ? 

A. That is a copy of the original instructions I received at this 
time from Mr. Crampton. 

The paper was being read as part of the evidence, when, on motion, 
a recess was taken for ten minutes. On the court re- assembling, the 
reading of the paper was concluded. It is as follows : 

" Memoranda for the guidance of those who are to make known to 
persons in the United States the terms and conditions upon which re- 
cruits will be received into the British army : 



866 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

" 1. The parties who may go to Buffalo, Detroit, or Cleveland, for 
this purpose, must clearly understand that they must carefully refrain 
from any thing which would constitute a violation of the law of the 
United States. 

"2. They must, therefore, avoid any act which might bear the ap- 
pearance of recruiting within the jurisdiction of the United States for 
a foreign service, or of hiring or retaining anybody to leave that 
jurisdiction with the intent to enlist in the service of a foreign power. 

[Both these acts are illegal by the act of Congress of 1818, sec. 2.] 

u 4. There must be no collection, embodiment of men, or organiza- 
tion whatever, attempted within that jurisdiction. 

cf 5. No promises or contracts, written or verbal, on the subject of 
enlistment, must be entered into with any person within that jurisdic- 
tion. 

"6. The information to be given will be, simply, that to those desiring 
to enlist in the British army, facilities will be afforded for so doing, 
on their crossing the line into British territory ; and the terms offered 
by the British government may be stated as a matter of information 
only, and not as implying any promise or engagement on the part of 
those supplying such information, so long at least as they remain 
within American jurisdiction. 

" 7. It is essential to success, that no assemblages of persons should 
take place at beer-houses, or other similar places of entertainment, 
for the purpose of devising measures for enlisting ; and the parties 
should scrupulously avoid resorting to this or similar means of dis- 
seminating the desired information, inasmuch as the attention of the 
American authorities would not fail to be called to such proceedings, 
which would undoubtedly be regarded by them as an attempt to 
carry on recruiting for a foreign power within the limits of the Uni- 
ted States ; and it certainly must be borne in mind that the institu- 
tion of legal proceedings against any of the parties in question, even 
if they were to elude the penalty, would be fatal to the success of the 
enlistment itself. 

" 8. Should the strict observance of these points be neglected, and 
the parties thereby involve themselves in difficulty, they are hereby 
distinctly apprized that they must expect no sort of aid or assistance 
from the British government ; this government would be compelled, 
by the clearest dictates of international duty, to disavow their pro- 
ceedings, and would, moreover, be absolved from all engagements 
contingent upon the success of the parties in obtaining, by legal 
means, soldiers for her Britannic Majesty's army." 

Examination continued by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. The paper just read you copied from the original one in the 
handwriting of Mr. Crampton ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. (Another paper shown witness.) In whose handwriting is this 
paper ? 

A. At that very time I also received this cipher to telegraph with to 
Mr. Crampton, and to Halifax, about this recruiting business ; I can- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 



367 



not swear as to whose handwriting it is in, hut I helieve it is Mr. 
Crampton's ; I did not see him write it, but he handed it to me. 
The paper was here given in evidence. The following is a copy : 



Letter. 
"a 

b 

c 

d 

e 

f 

g 
h 



k 
1 
ni 



Cipher. 


Letter 


y 


n 


V 





j 


P 


1 


<1 


X 


r 


e 


s 


z 


t 


u 


u 


b 


V 


w 


w 


t 


X 


a 


y 


s 


z 



Cipher. 
1 

n 
c 
h 
o 

P 
k 

g 
d 

m 

r 

i 



Q. You were to telegraph him by this cipher, instead of the usual 
way? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was the object in giving you this cipher? 

A. Such ciphers were given to several officers — Mr. Smolenski, Mr. 
Cartensen, and men actually engaged in the recruiting business, re- 
ceived those ciphers. 

Q. Was it for the purpose of avoiding detection ? 

A. It was for the purpose of avoiding detection, and avoiding any 
difficulties with the authorities here. It was to enable me to tele- 
graph to Mr. Crampton, from every place I might visit, without the 
people in the telegraph offices understanding it. 

Q, Were all the officers sent on this recruiting to telegraph to 
Mr. Crampton as to their proceedings, and was that cipher to be 
used? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. (Card shown witness.) What is that? 

A. That is a card of invitation to Sir Gaspard's table, in Halifax, 
received on the 8th of April. 

The card was read as follows : 

"His excellency, Sir Gaspard, and Lady le Marchant, request the 
honor of Captain M. F. 0. Von Strobel's company at dinner, on Sun- 
day, 8th April, at \ to 7 o'clock. 

" Belvedere. An answer is requested," 

Q. Are these also cards of invitation to you ? 
A. Yes, sir. 

The cards are here read as follows : 



368 



BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



Colonel Clarke, 

And the officers of the seventy-sixth regiment, 

Request the honor of 

CAPT. STEOBEL AND THE OFFICERS OF THE FOREIGN LEGION, 

Company at dinner, 

On Wednesday, 18th April. An answer will oblige. 



Colonel Fraser, Colonel Strotherd, 

And the officers of the royal artillery and royal engineers, 

Request the honor of 

CAPTAIN MAX F. 0. STROBEL'S 

Company at dinner, 

On Tuesday, the 3d April, at seven o'clock. 

Artillery park. An answer is requested. 



Judge Kane. What are these papers for ? 

Mr. Van Dyke. To corroborate what the witness says. 

Judge Kane. When the witness is impeached, it will be time 
enough to corroborate what he says. 

Mr. Van Dyke. I withdraw this paper. 

Q. (Letter shown witness.) Did you receive that letter from Mr. 
McDonald? 

A. Yes, sir. He is an officer in the provincial secretary's office. 

The letter was here read in evidence as follows : 

"Provincial Secretary's Office, 

"UfayS, 1855. 
"Dear Sir : I am directed by his excellency the lieutenant-gover- 
nor to introduce to you the bearer, Lieutenant Kuentzel. He comes 
with letters to Sir G-aspard from Mr. Crampton. You will please 
explain to him the steps necessary for him to secure his commission. 
" Your obedient servant, 

"bruce Mcdonald. 

" Capt. Strobel, 1st Company Foreign Legion/' 

Q. (Letter shown witness.) Do you recollect this letter ? 

A. This is a letter written by Preston to me, while I was actively 
engaged in recruiting men in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and other 
places. Mr. Preston had, at that time, charge of the barracks in 
Niagara. 

The letter was read in evidence. It is as follows : 

"Dear Smith: I send you the accompanying order, in currency, 
equal to £80. sterling, which please send me a receipt for by return of 
post. I find I cannot make any arrangement with the railroad peo- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 369 

pie here. They say the tickets had better be paid for at Windsor ; 
which I think is best also, for then the men will come to me clear of 
expense, which is the intention. Tell Schumann and Dr. Aschenfeldt 
to telegraph me how they are getting on at once, and how many, or if 
they have got any men. Let me hear also from you. 
" Yours, truly, 

" J. W. PRESTON, mh Regiment. 
"Niagara, 4th June, 1855." 

Witness. This Mr. Preston afterwards took command of the depot 
that was established in Niagara town. 

Q. This letter says " Dear Smith : ' ' what was the meaning of that ? 

A. I was obliged to take that name, because I was known as being 
previously connected with enlisting in the States. 

Q. (Paper shown witness.) What is this ? 

A. That is a telegraph I received from Preston. 

The paper was read in evidence, as follows : 

[By Telegraph from Niagara.] 

"Windsor, June 4, 1855. 
" How many men have you got? Money leaves here to-morrow 
morning by mail, on U. C, Bank — answer immediately. 

"J.W.PRESTON. 

"To Mr, Smith." 

Witness. Mr. Preston was the medium between myself and le 
Marchant. At Halifax, Preston received the orders from le Marchant 
and telegraphed them to me. 

Q. (Paper shown witness.) This is another telegraph from Preston, 
is it not ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

The telegraphic despatch was read in evidence, as follows : 

[By Telegraph from Niagara.] 

"Windsor Castle, *WiJune, 1855. 
" To Mr. Smith : Send in statement of money issued and how ap- 
plied. Tell all the others to send me similar statements ; until such 
arrive I cannot issue for next month. 

"J.W.PRESTON. 
("Paid,") 

Q. Go on and state what occurred after you left Quebec ? 

A. I left Crampton in Quebec, and travelled with Preston and an- 
other English gentleman, Captain Bowls, to Montreal ; I there received 
orders for another English officer in Toronto, to give over to us the 
barracks in Niagara town ; Preston took charge of the barracks ; I 
met my officers whom I had sent from Portland to Niagara ; they were 
sent from Portland to Niagara Falls ; I met them at Niagara Falls, 
and directed them to go to different places — to Cleveland, Detroit, 
and Buffalo ; and afterwards I sent one non-commissioned officer to 
Chicago ; I was called back ; I commenced it about the 4th of June, 
and I was recalled on the 13th, and arrived back in Halifax ; I was 
24 a 



370 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

recalled by the officers, because during this time I was only able to 
enlist sixty or seventy men, and Sir Gaspard expected a great many 
more ; and through this, on account of the intrigues of Mr. Preston, 
and some other officers "who were anxious to receive commands in this 
foreign legion, I was recalled to Halifax ; I was charged with having 
kept two officers on the Canada shore instead of sending them all into 
the States ; and I myself, instead of travelling and going to Chicago, 
Cleveland, and all around all the time to every place, was charged 
with stopping too long in one place — in Windsor. 

Q. Who made these charges? 

A. They were made by Mr. Preston, and sent to Halifax. 

Q. Who sent to you and told you of them ? 

A. Sir Gaspard le Marchant. He said that these charges had been 
made, and that was the reason I was sent for to Halifax. I requested 
a court-martial, and wrote a long account to le Marchant. I also sent 
it to Crampton, by a friend of mine,, Mr. Oehlschlager ; my company 
was still at Melville island, under the command of one of the officers 
I left there. 

Q. You saw them there at that time ? 

A. I was forbidden to see the men, and the men had strict notice 
not to converse with me — at least the men received such notice the 
second day I was there. I told the governor-general, that under such 
circumstances I would leave, and the sergeant was put in irons, and 
fifty men of my company sent to prison, for conferring with me by 
sending to me their non-commissioned officer. I left Halifax with 
the America, and came back to the States, and since that time I have 
had nothing to do with this concern. I saw Hertz here afterwards. 
Mr. Crampton took the address of every one of the agents who had 
been engaged in recruiting at that time in Boston, New York, Phila- 
delphia, and Baltimore, and told me he was going to see them. 

Q. Who did he take as the name of the person in Philadelphia? 

A. Mr. Hertz was the man recruiting in Philadelphia. 

Question by Mr. Eemak. Who said so ? 

A. Mr. Crampton took the names of different persons recruiting in 
different cities. 

Q. Whose name did he take as the person in Philadelphia ? 

A. He knew the names already, but took the address of every one 
of those gentlemen. 

Q. From you? 

A. From me, those I had in my possession — the address of Captain 
Carstenson, of Boston, and other parties in New York ; of Smolenski, 
and the address of a friend of mine in Baltimore. 

Q. Did Crampton take the address of Hertz from you ? 

A. He said he knew all about the proceedings against Hertz, and 
when he came to Philadelphia he would settle with every one of those 
gentlemen, and arrange matters in a different way, because he thought 
proper not to send men by the vessels any more, but by railroad into 
Canada. 

• Q. Do you know about his giving any order about engaging emi- 
grant runners? 

A. Yes, sir ; he allowed me to pay every runner $4 for a man. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 371 

Q. Do you know what Hertz was to get for every man he sent? 

A. I do not know exactly the amount Mr. Hertz received ; I know 
lie received money, and I know that they said in Halifax that Mr. 
Hertz 

Mr. Remak. I object to that. 

Question by Mr. Van Dyke. Did you ever hear Hertz, or any other 
person or persons in his presence, say that he received any money, 
and how much? 

A. Yes, sir, I heard Mr. Hertz say he had received money, but never 
enough to cover his own expenses. 

Q. Did he tell you from whom he received it? 

A. He told me he would receive money from Mr. Howe. 

Q. What else did he say to you in reference to this matter? 

A. Mr. Hertz told me he had connexion with the English govern- 
ment, and that Mr. Cramp ton and Mr. Howe Were the proper agents 
for paying out the money, and giving tickets and giving recommenda- 
tions for officers to get commissions. Mr. Hertz said so, and said he 
had instructions from the British government to that effect, and that 
he would receive head-money for the men. He mentioned Howe and 
Crampton as persons from whom he received it. 

Q. Did he mention any other? 

A. Not that I know of. 

Q. Was Mr. Bucknell known to Mr. Hertz? 

A. He did not meution him as a person engaged in it, or who had 
engaged him in it. 

Q. Did he mention any other besides Mr. Crampton and Mr. Howe? 

A. Not that I know of. 

Q. Not that you recollect? 

A. I do not recollect any other person. 

Q. (Paper shown.) Is that the report you made to Mr. Crampton 
of the transaction? 

A. That is the report I made to Mr. Crampton. 

Q. Was it delivered to him? 

A. I sent it to Washington, but the bearer did not find Mr. Cramp- 
ton there ; he had at that time gone up to Niagara. I sent a friend to 
Washington with this report to Mr. Crampton, to let hirn know every- 
thing that had occurred. 

Q. When he di'd not find Mr. Crampton in* Washington, where did 
he take it to? 

A. He took it to New York, and left it with Mr. Stanley, the vice- 
consul there. 

[The report was here given in evidence. It contains a full history 
of the transaction, from the time the witness (Strobel) left Halifax 
until his return.] 

It is as follows : 

Windsor, C. W., June 18, 1855. 

Sir: After having laid before you my plan for raising troops for 
the British army in the United States and on the Canada frontier, I 
received from you, at the provincial building, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 
in the presence of his excellency Mr. Crampton, minister from Great 



372 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Britain to the United States, Mr. Preston, lieutenant ^th regiment, 
and officers of the foreign legion, the following instructions : 

"You will repair immediately to the United States, accompanied 
and assisted by Drs. Aschenfeldt and Keuss, Lieut. Shuman, Mr. Mir- 
hack and four non-commissioned officers, to raise men for the British 
army within the jurisdiction of that government. You will, in ac- 
cordance with your plan submitted to me, station said officers and non- 
commissioned officers at the posts agreed upon, unless it may in your 
judgment appear expedient to alter the details of said plan. You 
are also authorized to order back to Halifax any of your assistants 
who may, in your opinion, be incompetent for the service, or who may 
neglect the duty assigned to them. You will receive traveling ex- 
penses for yourself, officers, and non-commissioned officers; also, before 
leaving Halifax, the half-monthly pay as per estimates, in advance, 
for officers and men." At the expiration of the half month, you are 
authorized to draw from Mr. Preston the half-monthly pay again in 
advance, and so on. You are further authorized to draw on Mr. Pres- 
ton for such sums as you may require for the transportation of men, 
head-money, &c. You will receive all orders from me through Mr. 
Preston, whom you will consider as my acting aid-de-camp in this 
matter, and you will be the medium to transmit those orders to your 
officers, so that there can be neither interference with, nor interrup- 
tion of, the plans laid down by you. Mr. Preston will be command- 
ing officer of the recruiting depot at Niagara town. You will exer- 
cise no interference with the transmission of men from Niagara to 
Halifax, but will confine yourself strictly to the duty of obtaining men 
in the United States, and of forwarding the same to Mr. Preston at 
Niagara. You are authorized to employ such assistants as you in 
your judgment may deem necessary, and are further empowered to 
state in my name, to any gentleman bringing a certain number of 
men, (say 120,) that they will receive from the British government 
commissions as captains in the foreign legion, and others different 
commissions, in proportion to the number of men they may bring." 

In accordance with the above instructions, I started from Halifax 
on the 15th of May, accompanied by my officers, as above mentioned. 
At Windsor, N. S., 1 fell in with his excellency Mr. Crampton, 
Lieut. Preston, and Capt. Bowls, who had left Halifax the same day. 
We travelled together to Portland, Me., where we arrived on the 18th 
ult. Mr. Crampton requested me to go with him to Quebec, L. C, 
as he was desirous that we should have a perfect understanding with, 
and the full co-operation of, his excellency Sir Edmund Head, gov- 
ernor of Canada. In compliance with this request, I ordered my offi- 
cers and non-commissioned officers to repair to Niagara Falls, there 
to await my arrival. We arrived at Quebec on the 20th ult., and on 
the following day were received by his excellency Sir Edmund Head, 
and held a conference with him, in which he offered his best assistance 
in forwarding our object, and at once gave up the barracks at Niagara 
town as a recruiting depot, and accordingly sent for Major Elliot ; 
which proceedings detained us until the 23d ult. On the evening of 
that day, Lieut. Preston, Capt. Bowls, and myself, started in company 
with Major Elliot for Montreal, where we arrived on the morning of 






IN THE UNITED STATES. 373 

the 24th of May. Arrangements were then entered into with Col. Bell, 
in regard to the barracks at Niagara and La Prairie. On the following 
day I started alone for Niagara Falls, C. W., where I arrived on the 
morning of the 27th. Lieut. Preston and Capt. Bowls started for 
Toronto on the 25th, and hence did not arrive at Niagara Falls till 
the 28th. These gentlemen remained at Niagara Falls till the 30th, 
when they took possession of Butler barracks, and the first arrange- 
ments were made for forwarding recruits to that station. As your ex- 
cellency will here observe, I was up to this moment, viz : the 30th or 
31st of May, unable to move one step in the object of our expedition, 
it having required all the time to arrange the preliminaries. On the 
same day that Mr. Preston left Niagara town, I learned from Dr. 
Aschenfeldt and Mr. Shuman that the conduct of two of my non- 
commissioned officers, Sergeants Roth and Krieger, had been unwor- 
thy of the confidence reposed in them, and I therefore deemed it advi- 
sable to send the said men to Lieutenant Preston, at Niagara town. I 
also thought it necessary to send to Niagara one of my officers, for a 
double purpose — 1st. To act for Mr. Preston as interpreter on the ar- 
rival of recruits ; and 2d, as we were unable actually to enlist the 
men in Canada, I deemed it well that some German of experience and 
age should be with the recruits sent on, to keep them in proper spirits, 
and to prevent any loss by desertion from the barracks, or in transitu 
to Halifax. I accordingly deputed Mr. Mirback for this service, and, 
with the license permitted me in your instructions of the 14th 
of May, was therefore obliged to modify my plan to suit this emer- 
gency. On the 30th instant, I went with Lieutenant Shuman to 
Buffalo. Having visited some of the localities in that place and Fort 
Erie, on the opposite shore of the Niagara river, I gave Lieutenant 
Shuman the following orders, in accordance with the instructions I had 
received from Mr. Cramp ton, and which I respectfully beg leave to 
subjoin. 1st. I ordered Mr. Shuman to take up his quarters on the 
Canada shore, at the village of Fort Erie. 2d. To have his non-com- 
missioned officer, Corporal Kamper, stationed in Buffalo. 3d. To go 
daily to Buffalo, and, in connexion with Corporal Kamper, there to 
make such inquiries as might lead to the obtaining of men. 4th. To 
send the men as quickly as he should obtain them to Lieutenant Pres- 
ton, at Niagara, and at the same time to report to me regularly the 
number of men obtained, and all circumstances relating to them. 5th. 
To take particular pains to lay out no moneys on the American side, 
but whatever related to the expenditures to induce runners to bring 
men to him should be positively and rigidly transacted on the Canada 
shore ; and further, if it were necessary to keep men together for a 
longer term than one day, to be careful to do so without the precincts 
of the United States. This latter order is strictly in accordance with 
articles 2d and 4th of Mr. Crampton's instructions. On the same 
evening, May 30, I ordered Dr. Reuss to leave for Detroit, and in- 
formed him that he would co-operate with Dr. Aschenfeldt, who would 
be stationed at Windsor, on the Canada shore of the Detroit river. 
I also communicated to him, in effect, the same orders I had already 
given to Mr. Shuman. I went to Niagara town to draw the half- 
monthly advance pay for officers, on the 31st of May. As Mr. Pres- 



374 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

ton was unable to pay me the amount which I required, he gave me 
but £40 sterling. On the 1st June I left Niagara town, accompanied by 
Dr. Aschenfeldt, for Cleveland, Ohio, where I had already stationed 
Sergeant Barchet. Passing through Buffalo, I saw Lieutenant Shu- 
man, and supplied him with some money for a few days, until I should 
obtain the balance of the half-monthly pay from Mr. Preston. On 
the 2d instant I saw Barchet in Cleveland, and supplied him with as 
much money as I could spare. On the 3d I arrived, with Dr. Aschen- 
feldt, at Detroit ; I saw Dr. Reuss, and supplied him with money. I 
then supplied Dr. Aschenfeldt with money, and left him at Windsor. 
On the 4th of June I again started for Niagara town, in order to re- 
ceive from Mr. Preston the balance of the second half-monthly pay, 
which I must here remark was a most useless journey, both as regards ' 
the expense and the loss of time. Had the money been properly 
forthcoming in the first instance, this journey would have been avoid- 
ed ; but I determined, as I was now obliged to go there, to make use of 
the journey as a means of again visiting the different posts, and pay- 
ing to the officers the balance of their half-monthly dues. In this I 
was again frustrated by the failure of the telegraph office in sending me 
a despatch of Mr. Preston, as a check had already been sent by mail 
for the amount. In spite of this, however, I telegraphed from Niagara 
to Mr. Shuman to meet me at Chippewa, and report to me the result of 
his proceedings in Buffalo. His report was, much to my regret, and 
contrary to all my expectations, very disheartening — he having sent 
but four or five men to Niagara. Having learned by letter from Al- 
bany, New York, that there was a fair prospect at that place of ob- 
taining from fifty to one hundred men, I ordered Mr. Shuman to direct 
Corporal Kamper to undertake the whole business in Buffalo, and to 
repair at once to Albany, then to place himself in connexion and 
communication with the emigrant offices and intelligence depots there, 
and to use his most strenuous efforts to obtain men, also to commu- 
nicate with me at once on the subject. As I have already stated, the 
check for the balance of the pay had been sent to Windsor while I was 
in transitu between that place and Niagara. I was therefore without 
money, and gave Lieutenant Shuman a draft on Mr. Preston for £20 
sterling, knowing that it would require at least three days for me to 
forward the money from Windsor to him. On presentation, Mr. Pres- 
ton refused to honor the draft. Considering that these matters would 
be in proper train in Buffalo, and supposing that Shuman would leave 
at once for Albany, I returned to Windsor, in order to receive a report 
from Sergeant Barchet, stationed at Cleveland, and to inform myself 
how matters were progressing in Detroit. I returned to Windsor, 
C. W.j on the evening of the 7th instant. On the following morning, 
to my utter astonishment, Mr. Shuman, who was kept by Mr. Preston 
at the depot, and, in consequence of it, was not able to see his men off at 
Buffalo again, or to supply him with money and to give him orders 
in regard to my sending Mr. Shuman to Albany, had left Niagara by 
order of Mr. Preston. The night train came into Windsor in sixteen 
hours after my arrival, bringing me the subjoined order from Mr. 
Preston, marked X. As the order purports to have emanated from 
your excellency, I promptly obeyed the same, and sent Mr. Shuman to 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 375 

Cleveland for Barchet's account, at the same time giving him those of 
Drs. Aschenfeldt and Eeuss and my own, giving him no further or- 
ders, hut simply telling him to return to Mr. Preston as soon as pos- 
sible. I had received from Barchet the information that matters in 
Cleveland were as disheartening as in Buffalo ; also saying that a Mr. 
Seybert, who keeps an intelligence office there, was willing to under- 
take the business if we could station some one at Port Stanley, for the 
purpose of receiving men whom he would send there. I wrote to Mr. 
Preston requesting him to send a non-commissioned officer or some 
other person to Port Stanley, to receive the men whom Mr. Seybert 
might send. This request was unattended to, and Mr. Preston did 
not even condescend to notice it. 

From all I could learn, Chicago and Milwaukie offered large in- 
ducements as a field for our operations ; and as I thought the port of 
Cleveland would have been provided for by Mr. Preston, in accord- 
ance with my request, I sent Barchet on the 11th instant, in company 
with another man, to Chicago, also Dr. Eeuss to Toledo, which place 
I had myself visited, and deemed a good port for obtaining men. I 
directed Barchet to communicate with me by telegraph, or otherwise, 
as soon as my presence and the money for tickets should be requisite 
in Chicago for bringing men to Niagara. 

On this clay, the 11th instant, Mr. Theo. A. Oehlschlager arrived 
at Windsor from Niagara Falls. Mr. Oehlschlager is a gentleman 
already known to Mr. Crampton, and of whom Mr. Crampton and 
myself had several conversations. I spoke very favorably of him, 
and Mr. Crampton advised me to obtain so valuable an assistant. 
Mr. Oehlschlager is a British subject by birth, being a native of Que- 
bec, L. C, speaking German like a native, and French with fluency ; 
the value of his assistance cannot be over-estimated. Having, as I 
have already stated, lost two non-commissioned officers, and having 
stationed one officer permanently with Mr. Preston, I felt the neces- 
sity of more assistance, and knowing no one more competent, I ac- 
cordingly wrote for him from Cleveland on the 2d June. I remained 
at Windsor on the 12th and 13th instant, in the expectation of re- 
ceiving a letter from Barchet, and also anticipating the return of Dr. 
Eeuss from Toledo with men. On the morning of the 13th I received 
a letter from Barchet, stating that Chicago was a capital place, and 
that a great many men might there be obtained, but it would be ne- 
cessary to forward them immediately, as it would be impossible to 
keep them long together. I accordingly wrote at once a letter to Mr. 
Preston, requesting him to send me £100 sterling. Before this letter 
was mailed, I received the following despatch from Mr. Preston : 
" Send Aschenfeldt back immediately." I accordingly did so, sending 
the letter I had written by Dr. Aschenfeldt. On the following day 
Dr. Eeuss returned from Toledo, bringing with him four men, stating 
at the same time that a number of from eighty to one hundred men 
may be obtained alone in Toledo. He also brought very good news 
from Sandusky and Monroe. I then received a despatch from Dr. 
Aschenfeldt, saying, "We all go back; more by letter." Having 
collected some eleven men at Windsor, besides seven already forwarded 
from this place to Niagara, and deeming the expedition, from some 



376 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

unknown cause, entirely broken up, I telegraphed to Mr. Preston, 
asking what I should do with the men. His answer was : " Forward 
men. Kecall Barchet, and return to-morrow." Not comprehending 
the whole business, I deemed it best to repair at once to Niagara and 
have the mystery cleared up. I accordingly started the next morning, 
leaving Mr. Oehlschlager in my place at Windsor. I arrived at 
Niagara on the morning of the 16th. I was cordially received by 
Mr. Preston, who informed me that, having held several conversa- 
tions with Major Browne, Mr. Wieland, and other gentlemen, he had 
come to the conclusion that we (myself and the officers under my 
charge) had neglected our duty, and that he had two charges in par- 
ticular to make against me — 1st. That I had ordered two of my offi- 
cers to remain on the Canada shore. 2. That I, myself, had remained 
too long inactive at Windsor, C. W. In consequence, he had deemed 
it his duty to send a despatch to your excellency, acquainting you 
with said disposition on our parts. That you had replied, directing 
him to act on his own responsibility. That thus empowered, he had 
deemed it proper to recall all those employed, and to send them back 
to Halifax. I informed Mr. Preston that I would at once comply with 
the order of your excellency ; at the same time I assured him of my 
opinion as to the unadvised and rash proceedings he had deemed it 
proper to adopt, and further expressed my belief in his having been 
influenced in these measures by Major Browne, Mr. Wieland particu- 
larly, and others, who were anxious, to my perfect knowledge, to ob- 
tain commands in the foreign legion. While in Niagara town, I saw 
a despatch from this Mr. Browne to Lieutenant Preston, stating in 
effect that my letter to Mr. Preston, of the 13th instant, was a false- 
hood, and that there were no men in Chicago to be sent. The follow- 
ing is, I think, the wording of the despatch: "The fifty men a 
myth." Having some little personal business in Windsor, and wish- 
ing to communicate with Mr. Oehlschlager, I returned here this morn- 
ing. On my arrival, Mr. Oehlschlager informed me that, shortly 
after my departure on the 15th instant, a Mr. Browne arrived here 
from Mr. Preston. He represented himself, or at least led Mr. Oehl- 
schlager to believe, that he was a major in the British service. Mr. 
Oehlschlager, under such a supposition, believing him to be an officer 
in the British army, and an authorized agent of your excellency, im- 
mediately gave up the charge of the post and of the men. Mr. Browne 
sent the men on to Niagara that evening, in charge of Dr. Beuss, 
who left yesterday for Halifax. I also found here a despatch from 
Chicago from a man named Konen, employed by me at that place, 
which fully substantiates the good news contained in Barchet' s. letter. 
It reads as follows : " Come here immediately. Twenty ready; tick- 
ets wanted." 

I have thus far, your excellency, attempted to give a rough outline 
of what I have done since my departure from Halifax, and shall now 
leave it with yourself to judge whether the time has been wantonly 
thrown away, and whether I have neglected my duty or not. There 
have, it is true, been many causes which have rendered the expedition 
less successful than I had imagined in the outset, but over these cir- 
cumstances I have, as you may judge from the above statement, been 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 377 

able to exercise but little or no control. Besides, jour excellency will 
be pleased to take into consideration that we have not had more than 
eight or nine working days of real trial. We did not get fully into 
operation before the 4th or 5th. On the 7th, Mr. Shuman was with- 
drawn by order of Mr. Preston. Not before the 9th, the bills we had 
printed were in our hands and posted. The 10th was Sunday. On 
the 13th, the expedition was virtually broken up, Dr. Aschenfeldt 
recalled, and your excellency in possession of a despatch to that effect. 

The difficulties under which we had to labor were, in the begin- 
ning, very great. In the first place, shortly before our arrival, the 
navigation of the great lakes was opened, and thousands of men 
who had lain idle for months were at once thrown into employment. 
A week before Mr. Shuman arrived at Buffalo, six hundred work- 
ing men had been withdrawn from that place, to work on the tele- 
graph line through Newfoundland. In short, work was plenty, and 
the weather mild ; it is, therefore, but little wonder that under such 
inauspicious circumstances we did not succeed at once. Then the 
Americans have in every city in which we have been a recruiting 
officer, where they offer $12 per month and a bounty of one hundred 
and sixty acres of land, besides giving head-money to the runners. 
Again, a great antipathy appears to prevail throughout the United 
States to British service, and a strong mistrust of the whole business, 
from the occurrences relating thereto which took place in the eastern 
cities. These difficulties had to be overcome ; and just when we arrived 
at a point where the prospects began to brighten, and we had tangible 
hopes of our ultimate success, the whole matter, as far as ourselves 
are concerned, is given up, without my being in the slightest instance 
consulted or advised with. From certain remarks of this Mr. Browne, 
I am led to believe that the conduct of the money matters of the 
expedition has also been called in question. In refutation of any 
such malignant charge, I respectfully beg leave to subjoin my ac- 
counts, and request that those of my officers may be strictly exam- 
ined. 

A few words in relation to the charges made against me by Mr. 
Preston. The first is simply enough refuted by all that part of the 
above statement which refers to my orders and instructions to Dr. 
Aschenfeldt and Mr. Shuman. Of the second, I have but to observe, 
that when I started from Halifax I was under the impression that I 
was given charge of this expedition in the United States ; that I had 
discretionary power to take up my headquarters where I deemed best, 
and where I could most readily hear from my assistants, and not that 
my conduct was to be subject to the espionage and impertinent inter- 
ference of men of whom I had no knowledge whatever, in connexion 
with this expedition. I refer to Mr. Browne and others. Nor can I 
conceive how Mr. Preston could commit such a gross error as he has 
done, in breaking up this expedition, without stronger and more suf- 
ficient reasons. 

I have now to make a few remarks on Mr. Preston's conduct in 
connexion with this business, which, however painful it may be, I 
consider it my duty to your excellency, under whose orders I have 
been engaged in this matter, and to myself. Mr. Preston, in the first 



378 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

place, as early as the 7th inst., violated the spirit and letter of your 
instructions to me in two instances : 1st. By failing to pay my draft 
sent by Mr. Shuman ; and 2dly. By sending Mr. Shuman down to 
Windsor, when I sent him to Albany. In short, I have failed to meet 
from Mr. Preston that cordial co-operation and friendly assistance 
which I had hoped for, and on which the success of such an expedition 
so eminently depends. I feel pleasure, however, in saying that I 
can look upon this failure on the part of Mr. Preston in no other light 
than as an error of judgment, and his being too easily influenced by 
others. 

With the above statement of the facts of the last month, and which I 
am ready to substantiate at any moment by the testimony of my officers 
and others, I beg leave to submit this, my report, to your excellency's 
kind consideration. 

I have the honor to remain, your excellency's very obedient servant, 

MAX FEANZ OTTO STBOBEL, 

Captain For. Leg. 

To His Excellency Sir Gaspard le Marchant, 

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. 

Mr. Eemak. Was this paper ever delivered? 

A. It was delivered to Mr. Crampton and Sir Gaspard le Marchant. 

Mr. Yan Dyke. Did Mr. Hertz say anything to you in reference 
to having advertised in any paper in Philadelphia ? 

A. Yes, sir, the advertisement was in Mr. Hertz's office, in the 
newspapers. 

Q. Did he say anything to you as to his advertising ? 

A. He said he was obliged to have it advertised in order to get men. 

Q. What advertised ? 

A. This proclamation. Mr. Hertz sent men to the office of the 
paper to see if it was advertised. 

Q. When was that ? 

A. I cannot recollect the very date — it was before I went away with 
my company. 

Q. Do you recollect the advertisement? 

A. Yes, sir, I recollect the advertisement ; I have seen it in the 
paper, but do not recollect the very day. 

Q. What do you know of Mr. Hertz putting this (showing witness 
the Pennsylvanian containing the advertisement) in the paper ? 

A. Mr. Hertz says, I suppose by this advertisement we would get 
some men. 

Q. Where did you last see Hertz, before sailing from Philadelphia 
with your men ? 

A. I saw Mr. Hertz on the boat. He came down in the morning 
to the wharf where we sailed from, and it was at that very moment 
lie gave me the money, $25. 

Q. On the boat Delaware, on which you sailed on Sunday morning, 
of March 16, 1855 ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Will you state to the court and jury whether you recommended 
to Mr. Crampton a certain Colonel Burgthal ? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 379 

Mr. Eemak objected. Objection was sustained. 

Question by Mr. Van Dyke. Is there anything else you recollect in 
connexion with Mr. Hertz that you have not stated? If there is, 
state it. Any conversations that you had with Mr. Hertz or Mr. 
Crampton about Mr. Hertz being engaged in this business. 

A. I remember a conversation with Crampton about Hertz, where 
Crampton said he believed 

The question and answer were ruled out. 

Q. Do you recollect any conversation Mr. Hertz had with any per- 
son, or any conversation you had with him ? 

A. I heard many conversations of Mr. Hertz with other officers 
who left for Halifax. It was a promise Hertz made to these men in 
the name of Mr. Howe, and through Mr. Howe in the name of the 
English government, to give them commissions in the foreign legion, 
if they would go to Halifax, if they were military men before, and so 
on ; and when some of them would express doubts on the subject, Mr. 
Hertz would try and prove that he had really the power to promise. 

Q. Anything else ? 

A. I remember there was some money given to the men by Mr. 
Hertz. 

Q. Which men? 

A. To the men who enlisted. 

Q. What was money given them for ? 

A. To pay board to the very day they sailed, from the time of en- 
listment to the time of leaving. 

Q. Who paid for the tickets ? 

A. I suppose Mr. Hertz — I do not know. 

Q. Who gave the tickets ? 

A. Mr. Hertz did. 

Q. For the seventy- eight you took ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q.' You say you had a hundred in your company ; how happened 
it that you only took that number ? 

A. Afterwards some men were sent from Philadelphia. 

Q. How did it happen that you first had one hundred men, and 
only took seventy-eight with you ? 

A. The other parties came on afterwards, and were put to my com- 
pany as they came on, particularly men from Philadelphia. 

Q. What became of this company ? 

A. It sailed on the 8th of August for Portsmouth, England, to 
equip for its destination. . 

Q. (Cards shown witness.) What are these ? 

A. These are the cards which were given to the men to get a pas- 
sage on board the boat. Mr. Hertz got the cards ; I do not know 
where he got them from. 

Q. What is that on it ? 

A. ItisH. , 

Q. Whose signature is it ? 

A. Mr. Hertz's. 

Q. What is the meaning of N. S. Pv. C. ? 

A. It means Nova Scotia Eailroad Company, I suppose. 



380 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

The ticket was given in evidence ; the following is a copy 



N. S. R. C. 

H. 



Q. Did you take these tickets all the way to Nova Scotia ? 

A. Every man had one of these tickets, and they passed him on the 
boat. 

Cross-examined by Mr. Eemak. 

Q. Did you go to see Mr. Hertz of your own notion, or did anybody 
request you to go to see him ? 

A. I was requested by Dr. Biell to see Mr. Hertz, as I had seen 
Crampton only a few weeks before. 

Q. Did you know Hertz before that time, before Biell mentioned his 
name ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You did not know him at all ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You had already seen Mr. Crampton at the time Biell spoke to 
you ? 

A. Yes, sir ; Biell told me Hertz had a letter which he had shown 
him 

Mr. Bemak. There is no use saying that. You saw Hertz on the 
10th of March? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Where did you see him ? 

A. At his office, 68 South Third street. 

Q. Did you know the business of Mr. Hertz ? 

A. Yes, sir ; he was enlisting men for the foreign service ; Mr. 
Hertz himself said so when I came up there. 

Q. Was it not at his office you said people came in and enlisted, 
and entered their names in a book ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. (Showing book.) Here is the book presented to you ; do you 
swear that this is the identical book you saw there ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were all the names here entered by the persons themselves, or 
by whom ? 

A. Not exactly all these names ; many of the men signed their 
names themselves, and others could not write, and Mr. Hertz, or 
somebody, wrote down the names. 

Q. Now, be so good as to describe this book ; does it contain any- 
thing but the names and places of residence ? 

A. It contains the names of those men ; most of them I took with 
me, as my company, to Halifax. 

Q. And contains the residence of some ? 

A. Yes, sir, of some. 

Q. It contains nothing else ? 

A. It contained at that time the names of several officers willing to 
go ; it contains now but those names. 

Q. You say you received money from Mr. Hertz ? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 3S1 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. For what purpose ? 

A. I received money from Mr. Hertz, and was obliged to give him 
a kind of note, in which I stated I had received so much money, and 
it would be repaid. 

Q. (Showing witness a paper.) Is this paper signed by you ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

The paper was read as follows : 

" I received from Mr. Hertz f 5 on my word of honor. 

"MAX F. 0. STEOBEL." 

Mr. Eemak. The figures are blotted, and it looks as if it had been 
altered from $5 to $25. 

Witness. The signature is true, but I believe the 25 is false. I 
actually received, on my word of honor, from Mr. Hertz $10, but I 
never remember having given Hertz a receipt for this $25 I received 
on board the boat ; I never remember, but there is a possibility. 

Q. You stated in your examination in chief that you received $25 
the day you started ? 

A. Yes, sir, I received $25 that day. 

Q. You state now you do not remember having given a receipt for 
it? 

A. I do not remember ; I acknowledge this signature — that might 
be another note I gave to Hertz, stating I only received $5. This is 
my signature. 

Q. You received $25 on that day, and this paper states in num- 
ber 25 ? 

A. It states here $25. I do not recollect signing any paper for $25. 
I recollect saying to Mr. Bucknell I received that money. 

Judge Kane. Is this material ? 

Mr. Eemak. It is for the purpose of showing that money has been 
loaned to the witness. 

Q. You say you were present when several different men came in 
at different times and signed their names in that book ? What wenfe 
the conversation's between Hertz and those persons ? 

A. The conversation was that he showed the parties the proclama- 
tion or advertisement, and he said there is a foreign legion as you see 
in Halifax ; and if you feel able and disposed to enter this foreign le- 
gion in Halifax, I will give you the means to go to Halifax as a sol- 
dier in that legion — that is, if you are willing to go to Halifax and 
be enlisted for this foreign service. 

Q. Can you swear that Hertz ever said to enlist as a soldier for the 
foreign service ? 

A. I can swear that he said he wanted them to go to Halifax for 
the purpose of enlisting for British service. 

Q. Did he pay anything to them? 

A. He paid to several of them, but not every one — to some of them 
he paid one dollar ; to some 25 cents, and to some 50 cents. 

Q. Do you recollect the names of any of the men to whom he gave 
25 cents ? 

A. To Purde, and several others — their names are in the list. 



382 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. "Were any of those people very poor ? 

A. Yes, sir, some of them were. 

Q. Did you know that these people were actually in want of food? 

A. Not in want of food. 

Q. Do you believe that these people had any money at all ? 

A. I believe they had none. 

Q. Were they not looking out for work? 

A. They had been looking out for work. 

Q. And could they get it ? 

A. They said they could, but as they were detained they must be 
paid. 

Q. They could get work, they said ? 

A. If they would not be retained. 

Q. Did these people use the word retained ? 

A. They said they could get work if they were not kept waiting 
here doing nothing, and being promised every day that this vessel 
should sail for Halifax. 

Q. Then these people did not employ the expression retained? 

A. Well, they were retained. 

Mr. Kemak. You have to give the conversation exactly as it took 
place ; be very strict ; what language did these people speak ? 

A. In the G-erman. 

Q. Then they had no idea of the word " retained ?' ' 

A. We have a word in G-erman that means as much. 

Q. What is it? 

A. " Augeholten." 

Mr. Remak. May it please your honor, that word means detained. 

Q. Did not these people mean to say that their time was wasted by 
being unemployed ? 

A. No, sir, they said, or meant by saying so, that their time was 
taken by Mr. Hertz. 

Q. Did not some people come into the office who declined to go to 
Halifax ? 

A. Not that I remember. Some of them came once, but never af- 
terwards. 

Q. What did Hertz say when they declined — if you recollect they 
did decline ? 

A. I do not remember that any one declined. 

Q. Did Mr. Hertz offer them anything the moment he spoke of 
going to Halifax ? 

A. Not at that moment. 

Q. Mr. Hertz did not offer them anything when he asked them to 
go to Halifax ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did he actually ask them to go to Halifax? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did not he leave it optional ? Did not he represent the matter 
that they would get employment there ? 

Witness. G-et employment in Halifax ? 

Mr. Remak. Some employment. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 38'3 

Witness. No, sir, that could not be, because this advertisement was 
lying on the table, and for that purpose the men came up. 

Q. When the men came in, you say Hertz did not offer them any- 
thing ; when they were ready to go to Halifax, what did Hertz say ? 

A. Mr. Hertz said, I have a vessel ready for you to start in a day or so. 

Q. Did he state for what purpose this vessel would start? 

A. For conveying these men to the " foreign legion" at Halifax. 

Q. You stated that he gave some of the men one dollar, and some 
twenty-five cents ; to how many of the men did he give anything at all? 

A. It is very difficult to say. 

Q. Did he give it to twenty? 

A. I suppose that is the number. 

Q. Have you been present every time he gave these men something? 

A. Not every time, but he gave to that many in my presence. 

Q. Then you remember that he gave to more than twenty? 

A. Not to more than twenty. I cannot say that he gave to more 
than twenty. 

Q. Then you do not know if he gave to any one else? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. The names you remember mention now. 

A. Barrier, Blecher, Brining, Foley, Worrell. 

The court here overruled the question. 

Q. You stated in your examination in chief that some of the men 
received money to board ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How much did they receive? 

A. I cannot tell whether Hertz gave three shillings or four shil- 
lings ; to some he gave three, some four, and perhaps some a dollar. 

Q. Did Mr. Hertz ever promise you a commission ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Where did he promise you? 

A. In his office. 

Q. In whose presence ? 

A. In the presence of Mr. Eumberg and Lieutenant Essen. 

Q. Did he show you any authority for doing so ? 

A. I believed he had, because he made me himself acquainted about 
the letters and orders he had received from the British government, 
and I showed him my letters, although I never saw his letters. He 
promised me a commission. 

Q. Did Mr. Hertz derive any benefit from all the transactions you 
know of? 

A. I cannot tell. 

Q. You remember that you said in your examination in chief, that 
Mr. Hertz said himself that what he had received did not cover ex- 
penses? 

A. At that time. 

Q. Do you know, from your own knowledge, that Hertz has re- 
ceived, at any other time, any more money ? 

A. I cannot swear that Hertz received more money than he ex- 
pended, but I can swear he received money. 



384 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. Then he did not derive any benefit from his business transac- 
tions ? 

A. I do not know. 

Q. As far as you know? 

A. As far as I know, no ; but I cannot see into his business mat- 
ters, certainly. 

Q. Could Mr. Hertz have any direct benefit from the fact of any of 
these men going to Halifax? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. In what manner? 

A. He would receive $4 for every head. 

Q, Would the $4 come from the man himself? 

A. No, sir; it would be paid by the English government; the man 
could not pay, but the English government paid $4 for every head. 

Q. Can you say whether any agreement has taken place between 
Hertz and you, or with any of these men, with regard to the transac- 
tion ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was the character of it? 

A. The agreement was, that I was to take this company to Halifax, 
and I was introduced to the men of the company as their captain ; 
and I had to bring them up to Halifax. 

Q. Did you derive any benefit from this matter? You received 
money, did you not ? 

A. I received no money except that necessary to take the men to 
Halifax, and their tickets. 

Q. You received no money ? 

A. No money for myself, but money to take the men there, for the 
government. 

Q. You received no money for yourself? 

A. No money for myself, from the government. What I received 
for doing this, was the commission. 

Q. Did you receive from Hertz any money? 

A. I received as a private matter $10 from Hertz ; but I received 
f>25 to feed the men on the boat. 

Q. Then, Mr. Strobel, had you any direct authority from the Eng- 
lish government at the time ? 

Witness. Direct authority to do what? 

Mr. Remak. Any direct authority at all. I do not care what it is. 
Did you hold any commission ? 

A. Just the commission as promised by Hertz. 

Q. You had no commission ? 

A. I had no commission at that time. 

Q. Then you cannot say you were at the time the representative of 
the English government, or agent of that government ? 

A. Certainly, I was insomuch an agent that I agreed with the Eng- 
lish government to bring men to Halifax. 

Q. You considered yourself so? 

A. I did not consider, I thought so. 

Q. When did you agree with the English government? 

A, So early as the beginning of April, with Mr, Crampton, 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 385 

Q. Did you agree to take the identical men you started with on the 
25th of March? 

A. No, sir, not those men, hut any men. 

Q. Then you had no other authority than what you thought you 
had from Hertz when you took these men ? 

A. Not for "bringing these very men I named here. 

Judge Kane. The witness says he had authority from Mr. Cramp- 
ton to take such men as should he enlisted, and that it was from Hertz 
that he got the directions of the particular persons enlisted, and who 
were to be carried on. 

Q. Did you make any promise to Hertz in return for the so-called 
authority he gave you ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was the promise ? 

A. I promised Mr. Hertz that upon arriving in Halifax I would 
state that Mr. Hertz had sent these men, and that he had a great 
many more men, and had made arrangements with parties in New 
York, but was not able to send them, and I was to secure him every 
man he sent from Philadelphia to Halifax. 

Q. Did you ever pay to Mr. Hertz afterwards anything for th'e 
trouble he took to send men to Halifax ? 

A. I did not. 

Q. Do you kriow whether anybody else paid Hertz for the trouble 
he took on that day, or any other time ? 

A. I do not know ; I know that Hertz received money for the men 
in New York. 

Q. Did you ever see Mr. Cramptonin the presence of anybody else? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Who was present ? 

A. I saw Mr. Crampton in the presence of Dr. Eeuss, for instance, 
Major Boutz, Sergeant Bur git, and Eose, and others ; I travelled 
with Crampton and Preston in company with other gentlemen up to 
Quebec from Halifax ; these instructions were in the handwriting of 
Crampton. 

Q. I want to know if Hertz ever read these instructions ? 

A. I do not know whether Mr. Crampton sent him a copy of them 
or not. 

Q. Then you do not know whether he had ever any knowledge of 
these instructions ? 

A. They were written after I left here, and I could, therefore, not 
tell. 

Monday's Proceedings — September 24, 1855. 

Horace B. Mann, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Are you engaged in the Pennsylvanian office ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. (Paper shown witness.) Do you know whether that advertise- 
ment was ordered to be published there ? 

A. As regards ordering the advertisement I do not know anything 
about it, but that is a copy of the Pennsylvanian, 
25 a 



386 



BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



Q. Do you know anything about the discontinuing of it? 

A. Yes, sir, it was ordered to be discontinued by Mr. Hertz ; I dis- 
continued it at his order. 

Q. Is that the receipt for the advertisement? 

A. That is the receipt for the payment of that advertisement ; Mr. 
Magill is the person who received the advertisement ; the paper in 
which it appears was published March 16th, and the receipt is dated 
March 15th. 

The receipt was here read in evidence as follows : 



Philadelphia, March 15th, 1855. 

Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, 

To Advertising in the PENNSYLVANIAN, 

2 Squares for one month - - - - - $5 00 

Received payment for the Proprietor, 

WM. MAGILL. 



Max F. 0. Strdbel recalled. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke, 

Q. You have been sworn ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You are acquainted with the handwriting of Mr. Howe ? 

A. I have seen it. 

Q. What position did he hold in March and February, 1855? 

A. He was the general agent of the British government, in the 
States, for this recruiting. 

Q. (Paper shown witness.) Will you look at that paper, and say 
whether it is in his handwriting ? ' 

A. I believe it is Mr. Howe's handwriting ; I have seen him write. 

The paper was here read in evidence, Mr. Yan Dyke stating it was 
the original of the advertisement which appeared in the papers in re- 
gard to this matter. It is as follows : 

"The lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia is empowered by her 
Britannic Majesty's government to raise any number of men which 
may be required^ to serve in the foreign legion. 

"Depots are established at Halifax, and all able-bodied men, be- 
tween the ages of twenty and thirty- five, who may present themselves, 
will be enlisted. 

" The terms of service will be three or five years. 

" Officers who have seen service are eligible for commissions. 

"Surgeons, speaking the continental languages, or some of them., 
will be required. 

" Pensions or gratuities for wounds or eminent services in the field 
will also be given. 

" On the expiration of the term for which they enlist, the troops 
will be sent to their native countries, or to America." 

Q. You said you are acquainted with Mr. Crampton's hand- 
writing ? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 



387 



A. Yes, sir. 

Q. (Paper shown.) Is that, his "writing ? 

A. That is Mr. Oampton's handwriting. 

Question by Mr. Cuyler. You have seen him write, you say ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

The paper was here read in evidence, as follows : 

• . "Saturday, January 27, 1855. 

" Sir : I should be happy to see you at any time you may choose to 
", to-day or to-morrow. 

" I am, sir, your most obedient servant, 

"JOHN F. CRAMPTON. 
"Mr. Hertz." 

[Envelope.] 



J. F. C. 



Mr. HERTZ, 

Willard's. 



Q. (Another paper shown.) Is that also in Mr. Crampton's hand- 
writing ? 

A. Yes, sir ;' that is Mr. Crampton's handwriting. 
The paper, which was read, is as follows : 

" Washington, Feb. 4, 1855. 
" Sir : With reference to our late conversation, I am nOw enabled 
to give you some more definite information on the subject to which it 
related. 

"I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

"JOHN F. CRAMPTON. 
"H. Hertz, Esq." 

[Envelope.] 



Paid— J. F. G. 

Washington, 
Feb. 4, 
D. C. 



H. HERTZ, Esq., 

424 N. Twelfth street, 

Philadelphia. 



Q. Do you know Mr. Wilkins's handwriting ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Is he provincial secretary? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. (Paper shown witness.) Is that his writing? 

A. It is. I have seen him write ; that is his signature on the back 
of it. 

Q. Do you know whether Hertz was in Halifax in June? 

A. Yes, sir, he was in Halifax in June. 

Q. Do you recollect the day? 

A. I cannot recollect what day ; it was in the beginning of the 
month. 



388 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. In whose handwriting is the direction on the envelope? 

A. I believe it is Wilkins's, too. 

The paper, with envelope, was read in evidence, as follows : 

" Provincial Secretary's Office, 

"June 11, 1855. 
"Sir: lam in receipt of your letter of this date, and am com- 
manded by his excellency Sir Gaspard le Marchant to inform you that 
n reference to the claim advanced in your communication, Mr. Howe, 
previous to his departure for England, distinctly stated to his excellency 
that the moneys which you had received on account more than can- 
celled any claim that you might prefer. 

" Any instructions given to Mr. Howe by Sir Gaspard will speak 
for themselves, whilst Mr. Howe will best account for his own acts on 
his return from England. 

" In his absence, nothing can possibly be done by Sir Gaspard, in 
relation to yourself. 

" You must consider this a final answer, given by his excellency's 
command. 

" I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant, 

"LEWIS M. WILKINS. 



"Mr. H. Hertz." 



[Envelope.] 



On Her Majesty's Service. 
Mr. H. HERTZ. 

Provincial Secretary's Office. 



Q. You are acquainted with the British secretary of legation? 

A. Yes, sir, I have seen him. 

Q. Do you know his handwriting? 

A. I have seen his writing, but never saw him write. I never had 
any conversation with Mr. Lumley. I always addressed my letters to 
Mr. Crampton or Mr. Lumley ; I never received any replies from Mr. 
Lumley. 

The defendant's counsel admit the paper to be in the handwriting 
of Mr. Lumley, and it is read in evidence as follows : 

" Washington, May 31, 1855. 

" Sir : In the absence of Mr. Crampton, I beg to acknowledge the 
receipt of your letter of the 20th instant. Although I am not aware 
that I have had the advantage of making your acquaintance, I beg to 
inform you, as secretary of her Majesty's legation, that no charge 
against you, of the nature to which you refer, has been made to me. 
It is, therefore, superfluous to add that I have never expressed the 
opinion reported to you as having been used by me. 

" I am, sir, your most obedient servant, 

"T. SAVILLE LUMLEY." 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 
[Envelope.] 



389 



Paid—T. S. L. 
Washington, HENRY HERTZ, 

May 31, 1855, 424 North Twelfth street, below Coates, 
D. C. Philadelphia, Pa. 



Q. Did you know the vice-consul at New York?' 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What is his name ? 

A. Mr. Stanley. 

Q. Do you know his writing ? 

A. Yes, sir, I have seen him write. 

Q. (Letter shown witness.) Is that a letter of Mr. Stanley's? 

A. Yes, sir. 

The letter and envelope were read in evidence as follows : 

"New York, June 19, 1855. 

u Sir : I am obliged to you for the cutting from the newspaper which 
you forwarded with the note of the 17th, both being received by me 
yesterday. I do not understand the spirit evinced by the writer of 
the newspaper paragraph. I am not yet aware of any United States 
laws being broken in the matter to which he has reference, and have 
not the slightest interest therein. 

" Eegarding your claim against the Nova Scotia government, I have 
not received any communication from that quarter, as you led me to 
expect would be the case. As I informed you when in the city, it is 
not possible that I should be acquainted with the subject ; but if so 
ordered, I shall be happy to remit you the amount. 

ic l have seen Mr. Mathew, who happened to be in New York, being 
in hopes that I might procure through him some information which 
would aid you in this matter ; but being unsuccessful in obtaining 
any, it is utterly out of my power to forward your views. 
" Eemaining your obedient servant, 

"0. H. STANLEY." 

[Envelope.] 



New York, 


Me. H. HERTZ, 


June 


424 North 12th street, • 


19. 


Philadelphia. 



Q. (A card here shown witness.) Do you recollect that card ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. It is written in what language ? 

A. In German. 

Q. Do you know whose writing it is in ? 

A. It is a card written by Mr. Benas, at the request of Mr. Hertz. 

Q. Who was Mr. Benas? 

A. He was at that time with Mr. Hertz ; I do not know Mr. Benas 



390 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

himself. He was with Mr. Hertz, and this was brought to me by a 
man who came up to Halifax and enlisted in my company. 

Q. Did he go with you? 

A. No, sir ; he was sent to my company at Halifax by Mr. Hertz, 
and he brought this card to me, recommending this man to me as sec- 
retary of a company. 

Q. This man was enlisted in your company? 

A.- Yes, sir. 

Q. Before you left ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. He came on after the company left here, then ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Cuyler. Did you see this card written? 

A. I could not have seen it, because I was in Halifax, and this man 
brought it up there. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Benas, who signs it? 

A. I know him now ; I did not know him at that time. 

Q. Are you familiar with his writing ? 

A. I never saw him writing, and cannot say of my own knowledge 
that this card is in his writing,, but it was brought to me from this 
very man. 

Mr. Cuyler objected to the reading of the card in evidence. 

It was shown to the jury ; but as it was in German, few read it. 
We present a translation : 

" I recommend to you the bearer of this card, Mr. Sporer, an excel- 
lent and perfect penman ; if it lies in your power to obtain for him a 
position as clerk in your company, you will thereby greatly serve me. 

"M. BENAS. 

"By request of H. Hertz." 

Q. Do you know Turnbull? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was he in June, 1855 ? 

A. He was at that time an agent for Mr. Crampton. 

Q. Where is he located? 

A. He was sent to the west, to Cincinnati, to aid Colonel Korpony. 

Q. (Letter shown witness.) Is that his letter to you ? 

A. That is Mr. Turnbull's letter to me from Cincinnati. 

Mr. Van Dyke offered the letter in evidence. 

Mr. Cuyler objected. 

The objection was sustained and the letter ruled out. 

diaries Bumberg, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. What is your business ? 

A. I have been editor of the Philadelphia German Democrat, and 
I am now editor of a German paper at Pottsville, and co-editor of the 
Adopted American here. 

Q. Will you state whether you have ever been in the army? 

A. Yes, sir, I have been in the army of several German states. I 
have been captain. I came to this country nine years ago. 

Q. State whether you ever saw Mr. Crampton? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 391 

A. I have not seen Mr. Crampton. I have seen Mr. Mathew. 

Q. Will you state what took place between you and Mr. Mathew? 

A. After having read the proclamation and resolution of the British 
government for enlisting able-bodied men for the " foreign legion" — 

Q. That is, the one passed in Parliament? 

A. Yes, sir ; asking for recruiting able-bodied men for the "foreign 
legion" — I went to Mr. Mathew, and said to him that I couldenlist 
from 400 to 500 men. Well, I made no arrangements in relation to 
the enlistment with Mr. Mathew ; but I gave him a letter to the Brit- 
ish minister of foreign affairs in London, and he told me he would 
transmit it there. , 

Q. How long after that did you see Mr. Howe? 

A. Six or eight weeks after that. 

Q. Where did you first see him ? 

A. He came to my office in Third street, and asked me to agree 
with him as to the terms for enlisting men for this legion, and I re- 
plied to him that I would come on another day to see him for the ar- 
rangement of that matter. I went to him, and met there Mr. Hertz. 

Q. Where at? 

A. Jones's Hotel. 

Q. What took place there ? 

A. After having some conversation with him, I considered it too 
hazardous and dangerous to go in that concern ; and then I retired. I 
declined to engage. " ■ 

Q . Did you see him afterwards ? . 

A. Yes, sir ; but at that time Mr. Howe promised to give me a 
commission in the "legion." 

Q. Was Mr. Hertz present at that time? 

A. Mr. Hertz was present at that time. 

Q. What else did he say to you ? 

A. That was all. 

Q. What inducement did he hold out to you in order to get you to 
go into this business ? 

A. I did not know at that time precisely that the laws of the United 
States forbid. the recruiting ; and not believing it was against the law, 
I would have gone into it ; but after having consulted with many of 
my friends, I came to the resolution to decline. 

Q. Did you see him afterwards ? 

A. No, I did not see him after that. 

Q. (The original draught of the proclamation which Mr. Strobel 
testified was in the handwriting of Mr. Howe, and is given above — 
see page 386 for this paper — was here shown the witness, and the 
question was asked him whether he had ever seen it ?) He answered, 
I have seen that paper before ; I have translated it, and it has been 
inserted in the Philadelphia Democrat, German Democrat, and Free 
Press. 

Q. Who asked you to translate and insert it ? 

A. Mr. Hertz. 

Q. Did you ever go to Mr. Hertz's office ? 

A. I have been to it once or twice ; it was only to see what was 
going on. 



392 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. Did you ever go to collect money for his advertisement ? 
• A. No, sir. 1 think Mr. Morris, the clerk, did that. 

Q. What was going on there when you went there ? 

A. I have seen there many men, but it was not my business to look 
at it. 

Q. Did you ever ask Hertz, or did he ever tell you without being 
asked, how many men he sent to Halifax ? 

A. Yes, sir ; he told me he sent 100 or so on to Halifax. 

Q. Did he say what he sent them for ? 

A. No. 

Q. Did he tell you who took them? 

A. It was only in a conversation in the street, and I was not par- 
ticular. 

Q. Did he ever say anything to you in reference to your going there 
yourself to take the command ? 

A. Yes, sir, he has told me to go, and I have replied that I would 
not. 

Q. How often did you see Hertz in the presence of Howe ? 

A. I believe twice. 

Q. When was the second time ? 

A. That was when I declined. 

Q. Was Mr. Hertz with Howe when you saw him at your office? 

A. No, sir, there was nobody with him. 

Q. You only saw him, then, once at your office and once in the 
presence of Mr. Hertz, at Jones's Hotel? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Cross-examined by Mr. Eemak. 

Q. Did you not know Hertz before Howe introduced him ? 

A. Yes, sir, I have spoken to him. 

Q. You have stated that at first you were inclined to go into this 
matter. , Did not you write in your paper articles in favor of the " for- 
eign legion?" 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did not your paper contain such articles ? 

A. I believe not. 

Q. Do you not remember that the democratic paper, at whose head 
you were at the time, had articles against it ? 

A. I believe it had articles against it. 

Q. And were you not yourself in favor of this " foreign legion ?" 

A. No, sir, I was not in favor of it. 

Q. Did you not induce Hertz to put in that advertisement? 

A. No, sir ; he desired me. I translated it. 

Q. Did not you go to Mr. Howe in order to induce him to do some- 
thing in relation to this translation ? 

A. Not to my recollection : nothing of the kind. 

Mr. Van Dyke here showed witness an advertisement in a German 
paper, and asked him whether it was a translation of the original 
paper which was handed to him ? 

A. It is the translation. 

Q. You put that in at whose request? 

A. For a month, I think. 

Q. Who asked you to publish it? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 393 

A. I published it at the request of Mr. Hertz. 

Question "by Mr. Cuyler. Where did he (Hertz) ask you to trans- 
late it? 

A. He asked me to translate it and insert it in our paper. 

Question by Mr. Cuyler. At what place did he ask you that ? 

A. I remember not; but I believe it was in his office. 

Mr. Cuyler. You are perfectly sure that Hertz asked you? 

A. I am sure Hertz asked me to translate it and insert it in the 
Free Press and Philadelphia Democrat. 

Mr. Cuyler. Did Hertz personally ask you? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Yan Dyke here gave in evidence the German translation of the 
original proclamation, as published in the German papers of this city. 
The original can be found in Strobel's testimony, on page 386. 

Thomas L. Bucknell sworn. Examined by Mr. Yan Dyke. 

Q. Will you state to the court and jury all you know of this 
matter ? 

A. Well, on the 18th of March it was I heard that the honorable 
Joseph Howe, who was either president or director of the railroads in 
the province, was in New York, and I went on in the 5 o'clock train. 
I wished to see the procession of the 17th of March, " St. Patrick's 
day," and I thought I might see both together. I saw him at half- 
past 11 o'clock, on the 16th, at Delmonico's Hotel. I spoke to him 
of what I had visited New York for, and he told me he would see me 
again, and see what he could do about giving me employment as civil 
engineer. He said, you can be of use to me in one or two matters 
while in the city ; he gave me some ten sovereigns, I think, to go to 
bank to get changed into American money, and buy some stationery. 
Well, I bought the stationery, and got the money changed, and went 
back and gave the money up, and that was the last I saw of him on 
that day. On the 17th I called again, and he asked me to dine with 
him. I dined with him about half-past 4, and showed him my testi- 
monials from different engineers. Two or three gentlemen came in 
while at dinner, and the conversation stopped about what he could do 
for me. I do not think I saw him again until Monday, and he asked me 
if in the course of my walks through the city I would call for him at 
the Metropolitan Hotel, and see if there were any letters for him. I 
called there and got two letters, and brought them to him ; he had 
gone out for the evening, and I left them with the book-keeper ; I 
forget now whether I sent them up to his room or left them with the 
book-keeper ; I called next day, I think it was on Tuesday, and he 
asked me whether I would like to go on to Philadelphia and Washing- 
ton ; I said it was all the same to me where I go, for I have nothing 
else to do ; so he gave me a parcel tied up — I don't know whether it was 
directed or not — to leave with a man by the name of Hertz, at No. 68 
South Third street, Philadelphia ; I brought the parcel on, and called 
next morning at No. 68 South Third street, and asked if there wasa 
man by the name of Hertz there; there was a small-sized man in 
the room, and he said that Mr. Hertz was in the next room, and he 
would call him ; he called him, and he came out and said, I am Hertz ; 



394 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

I then said, the honorable Joseph Howe directed me to leave this 
with you, and you will please give me a receipt for it; I then left the 
parcel. That was all the conversation I had with him on that occa- 
sion ; I left the office, and went with some printed or sealed documents 
to Washington. 

Q. From him? 

A. No, sir, from Howe. I did not get any answer to those. I 
came back again. The sealed documents were directed to Mr. Cramp- 
ton. He, Mr. Craftnpton, asked me when I left New York. I told 
him about leaving this parcel at Hertz's, and he told me he would re- 
commend me to call back that way and get it again. 

Q. You are sure it was he? 

A. Yes, sir, I am certain. He told me to call that way again. I 
called at Hertz's office on my way back, and gave him the receipt I 
had taken for the papers, and took away the papers I had left at his 
office. That was the last I saw of Hertz until I saw him at the 
office. 

Q. What papers were they? 

A. They are the printed circulars that came from Halifax ;< the 
circulars with the British coat-of-arms upon them. 

Judge Kane. The witness spoke of that as an enclosed parcel. 

Witness. There was no cover on it ; there was only a piece of twine 
around the parcel, and I could see what they were. I took them 
when I came back, and rolled them up myself, and brought them back 
to New York. [Circular shown witness with the British coat-of-arms 
upon it, a copy of which is already published. See copy on page 
356.] _ 
That is the circular I saw. 

Q. You went back to New York after that? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you see Howe? c 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were you there when Mr. Strobel came? 

A. Yes, sir: I saw Mr. Strobel. 

Q. Did you give him any money? 

A. No, sir, not to Mr. Strobel. At the request of Mr. Howe, I 
gave $100 to Mr. Hertz. 

Q. To Mr. Strobel and him together? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. At the Astor House ? 
' A. No, sir, at Delmonico's. 

Q. What did Hertz do with the money? 

A. I do not much mind. 

Q. Did you see what he did with it? 

A. I saw him get a receipt for part of it from Mr. Strobel ; I believe 
it was $80. 

Q. Did you see the men that Strobel had there ? 

A. No _, sir. 

Magnus Benas affirmed. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 
Q. Where do you live ? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 395 

A. No. 218 North Fourth street. My business is pocket-book 
making. I know Hertz. . 

Q. State what you saw in reference to these enlistments ? 

A. I got acquainted with Hertz about eight clays before he was ar- 
rested. I was down at the wharf as the steamer Sanford left, and I 
was in his office on the same day, and afterwards. I got in his em- 
ploy about a week afterwards. 

Q. You got in Hertz's office? 

A. Yes, sir, in Mr. Hertz's employ. 

Q. About eight days before he was arrested ? 

A. No, sir, after he was arrested ; about the 2d of April. 

Q. Still in the same office ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Well, then, what did he engage you for ? 

A. "Well, for transacting his business. It was a commission office, 

Q. Did you write that card to Halifax at his request? 

A. I wrote that card on my own account. It was for an acquaint- 
ance of mine, and I wrote it on my own account. 

Q. Do you know anything about the office for recruiting, and Mr. 
Hertz's connexion with it? 

A. Well, I heard something, but I did not know anything before. 

Q. Did he tell you anything about the office kept by the Baron Yon 
Schwatzenhorn ? State what you know about Hertz engaging Yon 
Schwatzenhorn ? 

A. There was a conversation between the Baron Yon Schwatzen- 
horn and Hertz. 

Question by Mr. Cuyler. In your presence? 

A. Yes, sir ; they met at 68 South Third street, and agreed that 
Yon Schwatzenhorn should see to getting the men, and Hertz procured 
the vessels to bring them to Halifax ; and accordingly Hertz sent me 
at different times to the office of the English consul to inquire about 
vessels loading for Halifax ; merchant vessels — mostly schooners. 

Q. That was, "for the men whom Baron Yon Schwatzenhorn was 
getting ? 

A. Yes, sir. I was about four or five times in the office, and got 
about five vessels ; two of the vessels I recollect the names of; they 
were the u 'Grold Hunter," and "Bonita." 

Q. Were men sent in these vessels ? 

A. Yes, sir ; they were sailing-vessels, direct for Halifax. 
. Q. Were they English vessels ? 

A. Yes, sir, I guess so ; I do not know sure. 

Q. Did you see any of the vessels ? 

A. Yes, sir, I saw them all. 

Q. Did you see the names of any of them? 

A. Yes, sir, I told you. 

Q. Where did they hail from ? 

A. I do not know. 

Q. How many men did you ever see off in a vessel ? 

A. I saw them off, once four men, and another time six, but never 
more than six were in one vessel. 

Q. What was the character of these vessels ? 



396 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

A. They were schooners. 

Q. Was it at the request of Hertz that you went to the British con- 
sul's to know when merchant vessels were going to sail, for the pur- 
pose of sending the men Baron Von Schwatzenhorn had engaged ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. "Where did the Baron Von Schwatzenhorn keep his office ? 

A. He lived at the corner of Fourth and Brown. 

Q. This was after the arrest of Hertz ? 

A. Yes, sir, it was. 

Q. Do you know at whose request the Baron commenced to engage 
men? 

A. I do not know. 

Q. (Card shown witness, a translation of which may be found on 
page 390, ante.) Look at the bottom of that card, and say if you have 
not stated, at whose request you wrote it ? 

A. I did it of my own accord, and wrote that down to let Mr. Stro- 
bel know that I was in the employ of Hertz. 

Q.' Is it not written " at the request of Mr. Hertz" at the bottom ? 

A. I wrote it so, but it was on my own account. 

Q. Do you know Schuminski? 

A. Yes, sir, I saw him. He was not engaged at the request of 
Mr. Hertz, but of the Baron Von (Schwatzenhorn. He was with the 
Baron. 

Q. They acted together ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know how many men the Baron got altogether ? 

A. No, sir, I do not know ; I guess about twenty or twenty-six, I 
cannot tell for sure. 

Q. Did Hertz ever tell you how many men he sent altogether ? 

A. No, sir. 

Cross-examined by Mr. Bemak. 

Q. Mr. Baron Von Schwatzenhorn was not requested, then, by Mr. 
Hertz to send men ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know Winsor and other gentlemen who procured the 
vessels ? 

A. I do not know anything about it. 

Q. Was Mr. Hertz exactly in the position of Winsor and other gen- 
tlemen who had vessels at their disposal ? 

A. I do not know. Mr. Hertz sent me to the English consul to 
inquire about vessels loading for Halifax — that is all I know. I know 
they were for sending the men to Halifax that the Baron Von Schwat- 
zenhorn procured. 

Q. Did you not know that the Baron was indicted in this court? 

A. Yes, sir, I knew that. 

By Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Do you know where he is now ? 

A. In Halifax. 

Q. What is he doing ? 

A. I do not know.- 






IN THE UNITED STATES. 397 



Charles Burgthal sworn. This witness was a German, who could 
not speak English, and Mr. Theodore H. Oehlschlager was sworn as 
interpreter. 

Examined hy Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Where are you from ? 

A. From Vienna. 

Q. In what service have you been? 

A. Military. 

Q. In what military service ? 

A. The Austrian. 

Q. What official position did you hold? 

A. I was a major and lieutenant-colonel in the engineer service. 

Q. When did you come to this country? 

A. The 28th of September, 1848. 

Q. Where had you been located with your command before you 
came here ? ' 

A. In Hungary. 

Q. At what place? 

A. At Komorn. 

Q. Did you at any time see Mr. Crampton in reference to recruiting 
for the British government ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. State when you first saw him, and how you happened to go to 
see him ? 

A. I was engaged as superintendent on the Panama railroad, but, 
being sick, returned to the United States and went to see Mr. Marcy 
and Mr. Cushing and other gentlemen, and when in Washington be- 
came acquainted with Captain Strobel. I knew Mr. Strobel previous to 
this, five years before. Mr. Strobel informed me that Mr. Crampton 
was seeking officers for this business. In the end of February I went 
out with Mr. Strobel to see Mr. Crampton. I went to Mr. Crampton' s 
with Mr. Strobel ; he was not at home ; he was at a dinner party at 
Mr. Marcy's. I left my card there, and went to Baltimore to my family. 
Four or five days afterwards I received a telegraphic despatch from 
Mr. Crampton requesting me to return to Washington. The next 
day I did so. I went over there, and was with Mr. Crampton, and 
held a conversation of over an hour with him relative to this recruit- 
ing business. He made me a proposition requesting me to enter the 
regiment as colonel. I observed to him that I would not enter the 
service unless there was a perfect security as to my getting a commis- 
sion, as I did not wish again to enter the service of a despotic power. 

Q. What do you mean by " perfect security ? " 

A. I mean a commission from the Queen, as no one else was able 
to give a commission. 

Q. What else occurred? 

A. Then I came to Philadelphia in the beginning of March, and 
saw Strobel here ; I also made the acquaintance of Mr. Hertz ; about 
the 10th or 12th of March, Mr. Howe came here and visited me. 

Q. Did Mr. Howe call on you of his own accord? 

A. He looked for me and visited me of his own accord, having 
heard from Mr. Kumberg that I was here. 






398 BEITISH EECRUITMENT 

t 

Q. State the conversation "between Mr. Howe and you? 

A. He made the same proposition. „He stated that he had officers 
here, in Baltimore, in New York, in Chicago, and in different parts 
of the country, fie then told me that he would ohtain for me a com- 
mission ; that he had authority from Mr. Crampton so to do. I re- 
fused the offer, having other employment here at the time. After- 
wards Mr. Howe visited me with two or three other gentlemen, and 
invited me to Jones's hotel. I went to him and dined with him and 
these other gentlemen. I informed him at dinner of my opinion in 
relation to this recruiting business ; that it had been forbidden in the 
United States. He showed me two placards, one in G-erman and the 
other in English, and also a journey card and ticket, and told me that 
he did not think he could be laid hold of in the matter. 

Mr. Eemak. He said that he felt certain that nothing could be done 
to him ? 

A. That nothing could be done against him in the United States. 
He also requested me, if I came to New York, to visit him at Del- 
monico's hotel ; I went there, but did not meddle any further in the 
matter, nor go to see him. 

Q. Did you at any time see Mr. Hertz, or have any conversation 
with him ? 

A. I saw Mr. Hertz very often when I came to see Mr. Strobel. 

Q. Whereat? 

A. Mr. Hertz's office, in Third street. 

Q.^ What was he doing ? 

A. I do not know ; he was writing ; people came there for him — 
they came to see him. 

Q. Did Hertz have any conversation with you? 

A. I said nothing to him ; I simply saluted him. 

Q. Had he any conversation with you in reference to recruiting 
men? 

A. Yes, sir ; I think he spoke of it. 

Q. What did he say ? 

A. He said he sent people to Halifax, but not for military service ; 
that he had a commission to do so. 

Q. What did he send them for? 

A. I had my opinions as to why they were sent there, but I did not 
tell him, nor did he tell me. 

William Budd, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Are you acquainted with Mr. Hertz? 

A. Since the 13th of March. 

Q. Where were you made acquainted with him? 

A. I was introduced to him as the agent in this city for the recruit- 
ing for the " foreign legion." 

Q. State what took place? 

Judge Kane. What was the character of the introduction ? 

Witness. He was introduced to me as the agent by my friend, Mr. 
Strobel. We went down there one morning, and, after some prelimi- 
nary conversation between Hertz and Strobel, he introduced me to 
him. Strobel remained in the outside room, and he asked me whether 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 399 

* 

I would go to Halifax. He said that lie was agent of tlie foreign 
legion, and asked me whether I had called to receive information about 
it ; I told him I had ; he then told me that commissions were to be is- 
sued for men who would go on there, and he supposed that I would get 
one ; I then gave him my address, and he requested me to call again, 
and he would let me know when the first expedition started — to stop 
in every day and see him, and see what was going on ; I did so. He 
engaged me to go on there for the purpose of obtaining a commission. 

Q. State the conversation fully, that occurred between him and you, 
in reference to your going there ? 

A. Well, we had a great many conversations ; almost every day we 
talked about it. 

Q. When did you first agree with him to go to Halifax for the pur- 
pose of obtaining a commission? State the conversation that then 
took place. 

A. I did not agree on the first interview ; I told him I would think 
about it. 

Q. What did he say at that interview ? 

A. He promised me a commission. 

Q. Did he ask you to go with that view? 

A. Yes, sir, he did. 

Q. And you told him you would think about it ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What next took place ? 

A. After two or three days, he asked me if I had made up my 
mind ; I told him yes, I would go to Halifax, and see what took place 
when I got there. He then intended to send me with Captain Strobel, 
but I concluded not to go ; there were not men enough going, and I 
preferred to hear from him, and hear how he got on when he got there. 
It was on a Sunday when he started, and I did not go with him. 

Q. What did you do from the Sunday up to the time you started ? 

A. On Monday, Hertz was in New York. 

Q. Who had charge of the office while he was gone to New York? 

A. Bosschart and myself were there, and we took several persons 
down who came in there. 

Q. Did you do that at the request of Hertz ? 

A. We did it at his request. 

Q. Who was Bosschart acting for? 

A. I understood he was acting for Hertz. 

Q. Did you raise any men in that time? 

A. About twenty-five or thirty. 

Q. What did you do with them ? 

A. The day before we started they all came there, and we gave 
them tickets, and told them to be down to the New York boat next 
morning. I went down there after I received instructions from Hertz 
where to go to in New York. 

Q. What instructions did you receive from him ? 

A. He told me to go to Delmonico's hotel, and call and see Buck- 
nell. We started, and did not get any further than the navy-yard, 
when we were arrested. 

Q. You took the men? 



400 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

A. I did not take them ; they were down on the boat. 

Q. They were in your command? 

A. I had no real command ; I was considered as leader of the party. 

Q. By arrangement with Hertz ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How many had you ? 

A. About thirty when we started. I only saw twelve when the 
arrest was made. I think there were thirty. It was on a Wednes- 
day. I am not sure whether it was on Wednesday following the 
Sunday that Strobel went on with men. 

Q. Did you see the men go oh the boat? 

A. I did, sir, and told several of them to hurry up, or they would 
lose their passage. I took the tickets from them after we had started 
down the river. 

Q. What boat were you on board? 

A. The Delaware or Sanford — one of the New York line ; the 
Delaware, I think. 

Q. (Tickets shown witness, same as copied on page 380.) State 
whether those are the tickets used ? 

A. I do not know ; tickets like those the men had ; and after they 
got on the boat, the captain told me to muster them and take them up. 

Q. They got those tickets from Mr. Hertz and yourself, you have 
said ; where did you get the tickets you gave them ? 

A. From Mr. Hertz ; and when the tickets were taken from them, I 
gave them other tickets which the clerk of the boat gave me. 

Q. Who settled with the boat for those tickets ? 

A. I do not know. 

Q. You started in the boat, and were going down the river ? 

A. Yes, sir, 

Q. What happened then ? 

A. When I mustered them, and found there were so few, I was 
looking for the rest, when Mr. Jenkins came up to me and told me he 
would like to see me — that he had a warrant for me, and the marshal 
would be up alongside in a steamboat in a few minutes ; I told him, 
very well. They searched me for papers, and brought me up to the 
office ; I do not recollect the names of any of the company. 

Q. Had you a muster-roll ? 

A. I had. 

Q. Where is it? 

A, I rather think I tore it up when I was arrested. 

Q. (Book containing the names of the men who enlisted at Hertz's 
office shown.) Do you know that ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q, What is it? 

A. I cannot say exactly whether it is a part of Strobel's company 
or mine — I rather think it is mine ; several of the men who had en- 
listed to go with Strobel's company did not go with him, but went 
with me, and this list is part of Strobel's and part of mine, I think ; 
I do not know whose writing it is in ; Mr. Hertz gave me the list, and 
I suppose he wrote it ; I have seen the book in Mr. Hertz's office. 

Q. (Paper shown witness containing a list of names.) Do you 
know if that was the list of your company ? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 401 

A. I tliink it was, to the best of my knowledge, and I think I made 
those marks on it. I had no list besides this. 

Q. (Another paper shown witness similar to the first.) Is that a 
copy of this? 

A. Yes, sir, I expect so. 

Mr. Van Dyke here offered in evidence the list of names which the 
witness identified as containing the names of the members of this 
company, from which some of the bills had been drawn. The list is 
read in evidence. 

Q. Do you recollect the names of James Johnson or Peter Muhn? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Do you recollect Mr. Bucknell coming into the office with the 
handbills ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know whether Mr. Hertz took them, and what he did 
with them. (Bill containing the British coat-of-arms shown witness, 
same as copied on page 114.) Is that the bill? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What did Mr. Hertz do with them? 

A. Several were stuck up around the office and on the outside, and 
several were sent to be distributed. I understood they were sent 
around to the lager-beer saloons. 

Q. What became of the bills ? 

A. Mr. Bucknell took some away, and the rest were burned. 

Q. How did that happen ? 

A. I went in one morning and saw some excitement ; they were 
shoving the papers in the stove, and they told me that Mr. Bucknell 
had taken the rest of them away with him. 

Q. Did you ever see Mr. Perkins in the office? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. What did Mr. Hertz tell you was to be the destination of the 
men you took ? 

A. Halifax. 

Q. What were they to do there? 

A. To enlist in the foreign legion, if they were found physically 
competent. 

Q. Was there a physician at the office for the purpose of examining 
men that came there ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know what he was paid for getting these men? 

A. I do not know the exact agreement. 

Q. Did you ever see any telegraphing or letters written by Mr. 
Hertz? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. State what the telegraph contained? 

A. I saw him write a telegraphic despatch to Bucknell ; he told 
him to wait. 

Q. Did you see any letter written hj Hertz? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. State what it contained ? 

Mr. Cuyler objected. 
26 a 



402 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. To whom was the letter addressed? 
A. To Mr. Bucknell. 

Mr. Bucknell was here recalled. 

Q. Have you got that letter written hy Mr. Hertz? 

A. I never remember his sending one. 

Q. Did you ever receive the telegraphic dispatch he sent you 

A. Not that I can rememher. 

Mr. Budd's examination continued. 

Q. State what was in that letter. 

Mr. Cuyler objected. 

Q. Where did you last see the letter? 

A. On Mr. Hertz's desk. 

Q. Who was at the desk at the time? 

A. Mr. Hertz himself; he was writing at the time. 

Q, Have you seen it since? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know whether it was ever put in the post office? 

A. No, sir. 

By Mr. Cuyler. Have you any knowledge of it, except that it wai 
a simple sheet of paper on which he was writing? 

A. Yes, sir, he informed me of the nature of it, and read part of it 
to me. . 

Q. By Mr. Van Dyke. Did he give that letter to you after it was 
written? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You have no knowledge of what became of it? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Go on and state, to the best of your knowledge and recollection, 
what it was that Mr. Hertz wrote on that sheet of paper. 

A. Mr. Hertz was writing, and I was waiting in the outer office ; he 
asked me how I spelt my name, and told me that he was writing about 
me, and stating that I was coming on next day ; I then went around 
to where he was writing, and he again asked me how I spelt my name, 
and I looked over his shoulder and saw he was writing to the agent 
in New York that I was coming on with men, and he hoped, he wrote, 
that he would keep his word and send him on money at the rate of 
four dollars for superior brands, and two dollars for inferior brands. 

Q. What did h^ mean by superior and inferior brands ? did he give 
you to unde, stand ? 

A. No, sir. he did not. I understood this perfectly ; it meant men. 

Q. Did you see h^'m writing any telegraphic dispatch ? 

A. I saw him write a telegraph, asking whether I should come on 
next day or not ; I forget who took it to the office. 

Q. Was there anything in it besides that? 

A. He did not use my name ; he asked whether he should send 
twenty or thirty parcels next day. 

Q. Do you know whether he got an answer ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What was the answer ? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 403 

A. "Yes." It was signed "B." I think it was "Yes, all right." 
It was in the affirmative. He then told me to get ready to go next 
morning. 

Q. Did he say anything to you in reference to getting directions in 
New York as to what to do ? 

A. He told me I would get directions for money or assistance from 
the agent at Delmonico's hotel to proceed on to Halifax. 

Q. Did he mention the name of the person there? 

A. He asked me whether I would know Bucknell again, and I told 
him yes. 

Q. Did Hertz give you any money before you left? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Had you any conversation with him after your arrest? 

A. Oh, yes. 

Q. What was it? 

A. He said so much,, I cannot state it. 

Q. State what he said in reference to this recruiting business after 
you were arrested. 

A. After they had arrested me the marshal went on shore and ar- 
rested Hertz, at his office, and they kept us in the Delaware a couple' 
of hours, until they had preparations made for our reception. The 
deputy marshal kept the boat out, and when we came up to the office 
I found Mr. Hertz here. He said, "All right; I will bail you out ;" 
and I did not think anything more about it until I was committed. 

Q. Did he say anything about remaining quiet? 

A. Not then ; not until the latter part, when I had some difficulty 
in procuring bail. 

Q. What did he say to you then? 

A. He said keep quiet ; I will have you out. He afterwards said 
something about the matter ; it was to keep my mouth shut, it would 
be all right ; I would be well paid for it. 

Cross-examined by Mr. Cuyler. 

Q. When was it you were arrested? 

A. I cannot exactly remember the day, but it is very well known ; 
I think it was in the latter part of March. 

Q. Was there any previous communication between yourself and 
the United States officers before the arrest ? 

A. None whatever. 

Q. This arrest was not, then, in consequence of any conversation 
between yourself and the authorities, directly or indirectly ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Your arrest was a complete surprise to yourself? 

A. Yes, sir, to me ; I was totally unprepared for it. 

Q. Where did the conversation take place when he told you to keep 
your mouth shut ? 

A. Once down in the prison, and once in the commissioner's office. 

Q. By Mr. Bemak. In what country were you born? 

A. I decline answering that question, as it implicates myself. I 
have been advised to decline answering it. 

Q. By Mr. Van Dyke. Did you ever state under oath where you 
were born ? 



404 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

A. Never. 

Q. By Mr. Cuyler. Do I understand you to say distinctly that to 
answer the question, where you were born, would involve you in a 
criminal prosecution ? 

A. No, sir ; but to answer whether -I am a citizen or not would in- 
volve me in a prosecution. 

Q. By Mr. Bemak. Have you not been arrested and held to bail 
before the United States Commissioner Heazlitt, on the charge of 
having retained and hired men for the foreign service? 

A. I believe so; that is the charge on which I was arrested and 
held to bail for a further hearing. 

Q. And were you not, on the 28th of March, 1855, a defendant be- 
fore Commissioner Heazlitt ; that was, the day you were arrested ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you not turn state's evidence on the 28th of March, against 
Hertz ? 

A. I believe that was the first day I gave evidence. 

Q. Did you not say before the United States commissioner that 
Hertz had promised you money in case you would keep your mouth 
shut ? 

A. I did so at that time. 

Q. Did you not receive that money because you were in very desti- 
tute circumstances ? 

A. No, sir, I did not. 

Q. Had you any money in your pocket the time you were in prison? 

A. I had. 

Q. How much? 

A. I had sufficient. 

Q. You stated in your examination in chief that Strobel introduced 
you to Hertz as an agent of the English government ; why did you 
not say so before the United States commissioner ? 

A. I said so ; I do not know whether I used the exact words, but to 
the same sense. 

Q. It is here, in the published report of the proceedings, that you 
said, "I was introduced to Hertz about the 15th of March, by Mr. 
Strobel ; was introduced to Hertz as the person who would give me 
all the information about organizing the foreign legion in Nova Sco- 
tia." Did you not say that? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You said to-day that you were introduced to him as the agent of 
the English government ? 

A. For that purpose. 

Q. Did you or did you not state before the United States commis- 
sioner that Hertz was introduced to you as the agent for the English 
government? You say now that he was introduced to you as the agent 
of the English government ? 

A. He was introduced, to me as agent appointed in this city by the 
government for whom the foreign legion was to be raised. 

Q. You said that he was introduced to you there as the person who 
gave the information ? 

A. In that capacity. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 405 

Q. Did you not employ the word agent? 

A. I do not recollect it. 

Q. Did you not say before the United States commissioner that it 
was left optional to any person coming into the office whether he 
would go to Halifax or not, or what he would do there? 

A. I said that, of course, it was left optional with the recruits to 
go to Halifax, hut after they got there force was to he used to induce 
them to enlist. 

Q. Did you then state to the United States commissioner that Hertz 
was the agent to enlist those persons for foreign service? 

A. I did not say so. 

Q. Did you not state to the United States commissioner that Hertz 
sent men to Halifax, and it was immaterial to him what they were 
going to do there? 

A. I do recollect that Hertz sent them to Halifax for the purpose 
of being enlisted in the foreign legion ; of course, he had nothing to 
do with them after they got there. 

Q. Do you remember the 31st of March, when Eichard Vaux was 
your counsel, and when Benjamin Kush made that great speech ; were 
you not a defendant at the beginning of that period? 

A. I do not know. 

Mr. Van Dyke. There is no dispute about it. He was a defend- 
ant, and was discharged by the commissioner by my direction. 

Mr. Eemak. It is for the jury to know; I desire- to know whether 
or not the witness, on the 31st of March, was a defendant, and had 
made up his mind to turn state's evidence at the time? 

Mr. Van Dyke. I discharged him for the purpose of using him as 
a witness. 

Mr. Remak. I desire the answer of the witness. 

Witness. I think I made up my mind ; I think so ; I am not 
positive. 

Q. Did not Mr. Hertz say to you that he had no power whatever to 
give commissions? 

A. He said he had not power to issue commissions here. 

Q. He said he had no power to give any commissions? 

A. Here. 

Q. Do you believe he had any power to do so ? 

A. I really do not know. 

Q. Was Mr. Strobel present when you conversed with Mr. Hertz? 

A. On some occasions. On the first occasion he was present during 
only the first part of the conversation. 

Q. Who else was present? 

A. No person. 

Q. Did not you desire to see Mr. Hertz yourself? 

A. After I was informed that he was the general agent of the Eng- 
lish government, I did. 

Q. Had you a desire to enlist in foreign service? 

A. No, sir, I was not going to elist; I was to receive a commission, 
not to enlist. 

Q. And you say Hertz did not promise you any commission at all ? 



406 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

A. I did not say so. I said lie promised me that the fact of my 
going on there would insure me a commission when I got there. 

Q. He had not power to give one? 

A. Not here. 

Q. From whom did you receive tickets? 

A. From Mr. Hertz. 

Q. What were the tickets for ? 

A. To give to those men I was going to take on, to get their pas- 
sage. Nothing else was given to the men. 

Q. You state, I think, that able-bodied men could be attested in 
Halifax, if they proved physically competent? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you hear Mr. Hertz say at any time that " physically com- 
petent ' ' men would be received at Halifax ? 

A. No, sir, not these exact words; he has said, if they were sound, 
and has asked me if they were all right. 

Q. Why did not you say that before the United States commis- 
sioner ? 

A. I suppose I was not asked ; I do not know the reason I did not. 

Q. Did not your examination before the United States commissioner 
last for some time — for two hours? 

A. I do not know: it lasted for some time ; I could not exactly say 
what time. 

Q. Were you not asked at the time all you knew about it? 

A. I was, but I may have forgotten some particulars ; I had heard 
so much that I could not remember exactly all. 

Q. How comes it that you remember it now, and not then? 

A. There is some conversation which I related then that I cannot 
remember now. 

Q. Who have you had conversations with in the meantime about 
this proceeding — that is, from the 31st of March to the 23d of Sep- 
tember ? 

A. With a great many persons with whom I am acquainted ; I 
merely talked the matter over. 

Q. Were not you very partial to carrying on the war in Europe 
against Eussia, and for that reason you wanted a commission? 

A. I do not know, sir ; I never remember expressing my senti- 
ments ; I wanted to go there to have a fight, and I did not care which 
side I went on. 

Q. Have you not changed since that time in regard to the war in 
Europe? 

A. No, sir, not in the least. 

Q. You are now on the Eussian side? 

A. No, sir, I am not on either side. 

Mr. Yan Dyke here stated, that as the attorney for the defence 
(Mr. Eemak) had seen fit, in order to impeach the testimony of Mr. 
Budd, to read a part of his testimony before the United States commis- 
sioner, in justice to Mr. Budd, he deemed it proper, in corroboration of 
the testimony of the witness, to read the whole of the testimony before 
the commissioner, that the jury might see that there is no discrepancy 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 407 

in the two statements. (Mr. Budd's testimony before United State* 
commissioner Heazlitt is here read by Mr. V.) 

John Jacob Bosschart, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Hertz? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How long have you been acquainted with him? 

A. I guess I got acquainted with him last March. 

Q. Where did you first get acquainted with him? 

A. I do not know exactly whether I got acquainted with him at 
my own house or first at his office, No 68 South Third street. I 
think it was at my house. I was in the habit of attending his office 
during the month of March. 

Q. State all that took place between you and him, and between 
him and other persons, in relation to enlisting for the foreign legion ? 

A. I was first made acquainted with the business by Mr. Leob. 
He told me that Mr. Hertz had entered into the business of recruiting 
for the British foreign legion. Some time afterwards, Dr. Biell, who 
was boarding with me at the time, told me about it, and I soon after 
saw an advertisement in the German Democrat, Pennsylvanian, and 
Ledger, that they wanted men for the British foreign legion ; that 
every one who chose to go to No. 68 South Third street would 
learn the particulars. Dr. Biell and Aschenfeldt went down there, 
and I went too, to see what was going on ; I saw the officers and men 
going there, and spoke to Mr. Hertz about this foreign legion, and 
about their pay and commissions. Some of them signed their names 
in the book, and some of them were taken down by Hertz himself. 

Q. What was the character of the conversation which took place 
between Mr. Hertz and the men when they came up there? 

A. The men came in and generally asked if that was the recruiting 
office, or office to enlist men for the foreign legion ; the reply gener- 
ally was that that was no recruiting office, and that they could not 
be enlisted there, but if they chose to go to Halifax they might be 
enlisted there ; then he showed them the handbills, which stated that 
$30 bounty was given, and $8 a month to the men ; he said that it was 
in his power to give them a commission. 

Q. (The handbill shown witness containing British coat-of-arms, 
already published, page 114.) Is this the kind of handbill which 
he showed them? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What did the men say they wanted to go to Halifax for? 

A. They wanted to go to Halifax to serve in the foreign legion — 
that is, the men who came to the office. 

Q. Did he engage them to go there for that purpose? 

A. As I understood, he engaged them to go for that purpose. 

Q. To enlist when they got there? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And they told him that that was their intention when they got 
there ? 

A. Yes, sir, they told him that. 

Q. How long were you with him in that office? 



408 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

A. I was there every day from the beginning of the business until 
we were arrested. 

Q. Do you recollect any physician who examined the men ? 

A. Well, I recollect that Dr. Biell examined some of them. 

Q. Do you know what Mr. Hertz was to get for sending on these 
men? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know who employed Mr. Hertz to do this business ? 

A. I was told Mr. Howe employed him. 

Q. Who told you? 

A. I do not recollect who told me. 

Q. Do you recollect Mr. Hertz ever saying anything about it ? 

A. I heard Hertz talk frequently about Howe, but cannot recollect 
distinctly that he said that Howe employed him. 

Q. Did Hertz, in speaking of the manner in which he was employ- 
ed to conduct this business, speak of Howe as being connected with hi& 
being employed ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did Mr. Hertz ever say anything to you about Mr. Crampton 
having employed him ? 

A. He told me he had seen Mr. Crampton on the subject. 

Q. What did he say had taken place between him and Mr. Crampton? 

A. He did not say what had taken place between him and Mr. 
Crampton — not that I recollect. 

Q. You recollect the departure of Captain Strobel and his company ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were you at the wharf at the time ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Was Hertz there ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. To assist in getting them off? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did he engage that company to go to Halifax ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. For what purpose ? 

A. For thepurpose of enlisting in the foreign legion, as I understood. 

Q. Do you know whether he went to New York to make arrange- 
ments for sending that company from New York to Boston ? 

A. That company started from here on Sunday morning, at 10 
o'clock, and Mr. Hertz went to New York on Sunday night, in the 
half-past one o'clock train, to make arrangements to see that the men 
got off from New York ; he returned to this city on Monday night or 
Tuesday morning ; I saw him on Tuesday morning again in the office. 

Q. While he was away who had charge of the office? 

A. I had charge of the office. 

Q. Were you directed to conduct the business for him while he was 
away? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And those men who were enlisted during the absence of Hertz, 
on Monday, were engaged by you at the direction of Hertz ? 

A. Yes, sir ; I took the names on a piece of paper as directed, and 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 409 

told the men that Hertz would be hack on Tuesday, and find a vessel 
to bring them on to Halifax. 

Q. Why did you not take the names in the book during his ab- 
sence ? 

A. I guess I was directed by Hertz to take them down on the paper. 

Q. (Paper shown witness.) Is that in your writing? 

A. I could not say whose writing it is — some of it is written by me ; 
two of the names are written by me, Eobert Korn and Peter Sable; 
it is the list which was kept in the office ; that list contained the 
names of those who engaged to go. 

Q. (Another paper shown.) Is that another list of the names kept 
in the office ? 

A. Yes, sir ; there is none of my writing on that. 

Q. (Book containing the names of those who enlisted, which has 
already been partly published, shown.) Look at that book and say 
whether you see any of Hertz's writing in it? 

A. The names on the first page, I think, are all written by the 
men ; on the second page also ; and on the third page some of them 
are written by Hertz. 

Q. (List of officers in the back of the book shown witness.) What 
is that ? 

A. That is a list of the officers. It is in Mr. Hertz's writing. It 
contains the names of Strobel, Esson, Shuman, Biel, Lisepenny, Budd, 
Aschenfeldt, Kiter, and Angler e. I know those men engaged to go 
as officers — some of them as non-commissioned officers, and some of. 
them as commissioned officers. 

Q. Do you know what pay Mr. Hertz got for this? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. (Tickets shown.) Did you see many of this kind of tickets 
about the office ? 

A. Yes, sir, there were a great many of those tickets. 

Q. Did the men who went in Strobel' s company get any tickets? 

A. I guess so; I am not certain. 

Q. (Another book shown.) Do you know that book ? 

A. I saw that book once there. 

Q. Whose writing is that in it? 

A. I guess it is the writing of a man in the employ of Mr. Hertz, 
Mr. Holm. I do not know exactly, but I think so. 

Book read in evidence, from which it appeared that Hertz was 
debited with $750, and credited by cash with $300, and then charged 
with 758 tickets. 

Q. Do you know who he got that cash from? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. (Some handbills were shown witness, same as on page 114, ante.) 
How many of those handbills did you see about there ? 

A. I could not tell how many. I saw a package of them ; Mr. 
Bucknell brought them. 

Q. Were any of them posted about? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. By whom? 

A. I cannot tell. 

Q. Who directed it to be done? 



410 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

A. Mr. Hertz. 

Q. Do you know who paid the German Democrat for the advertise- 
ment of this call ? 

A. Mr. Hertz did. 

Q. Where did he pay ? 

A. In his office. 

Q. Who called for it? 

A. The clerk of the Democrat, Mr. Morris. 

Q. Did you see him pay ? 

A. I saw him pay. 

Q. You were arrested at the office ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. With Mr. Hertz, on the morning that the steamer started? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Was it before or after the men were arrested? 

A. On the very same day. 

Q. It might have been earlier in the day or later in the day ? 

A. It was after the men had started. Mr. Budd was put in com- 
mand of them. 

Q. Do you recollect the list of the names of those who went with 
Mr. Budd? 

A. I think that it is the last list shown me, hut I am not sure of it. 

Q. Do you know whether all those who went with Budd were en- 
gaged by Hertz to go with him ? 

A. They were engaged by Hertz to go to Halifax. 

The witness was here questioned by Judge Kane as to the larger 
book which he had identified as containing a list of the names of per- 
sons enlisted. 

Q. Was anything written in this book on the page preceding that 
containing the name ? 

A. No, sir ; it is a list of officers, with their rank. 

Q. It has been cut out ? 

A. Yes, sir ; the list of officers is cut out. 

Q. It was the list of officers, with their rank ? 

A. Yes, sir ; they put their names down, and the rank they were 
to hold there was put down by Hertz. I mean military rank. 

Q. That was all on the page cut out? 

A. Yes, sir ; there are two leaves cut out ; one was for the com- 
missioned officers, and one for the non-commissioned officers ; I recol- 
lect there is a list of officers written in the back of the book after they 
were cut out, and that was just a memorandum. 

Br. Peter Joseph Reuss, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. You are a physician ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What country do you belong to? 

A. Hesse ; I have been in this country this 26th of September is 
four years. 

Q. Will you state whether you came to Philadelphia in March or 
April last, and for what purpose ? 

A. I came to Philadelphia for the purpose of going to Halifax ; I 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 411 

was to go to New York, and thence to Montreal ; I came here induced 
by a proclamation in the Philadelphia German Democrat ; I went 
through here to New York, and from New York to Halifax. 

Q. Did you stop at Hertz's here? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Why not? 

A. Mr. Kemak objected. 

Q. Had Hertz been arrested at the time you arrived here? 

A. I do not know that, because I did not stop in Philadelphia ; I 
went to New York and Montreal, and then to Boston, and from 
Boston to Halifax in the Africa. 

Q. Is that the steamer? 

A. No, sir, the barque Africa. 

Q. When you got to Halifax, where did you go, and who did 
you see ? 

A. I went to the Provincial Building, and spoke with Mr. Wilkins 
and Mr. Bruce McDonald. 

Mr. Bemak. Be good enough to bring this home to Hertz. 

Q. By Mr. Yah Dyke. Have you at any time had any conversa- 
tion with Hertz, before or after that ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. When you arrived in Halifax, state what you did? 

A. I went to the Provincial Building and met Wilkins, the first 
secretary of Nova Scotia, and the same day afterward I spoke with 
Sir G-aspard le Marchant, the governor of Nova Scotia. I sent some 
days before a letter in the French language to Sir G-aspard le 
Marchant, and told him what I came to Halifax for — that I was in- 
duced by his proclamation. I had sent a man before to No. 68, 
South Third street, Philadelphia, to see what the business was,, be- 
cause it was in the proclamation that physicians and surgeons would 
be engaged with good pay, and this man came back and told me that 
the whole business had been stopped by the United States attorney, 
and that he had spoken with one man on the subject, but he did not 
tell me his name, and he told him that the business was all right, to 
go to Halifax, and I would be engaged as physician for the regiment. 
I wrote the letter, but did not receive any answer, because the busi- 
ness was stopped. In Halifax, the governor told me that I could not 
be engaged unless I raised men. I refused that, because I told him I 
did not come for that business ; I came to be engaged as doctor, and 
not as recruiting officer. Mr. Wilkins called on me some time after- 
wards, and told me that if I raised men in the United States, I should 
be engaged, but not if I refused ; and then I was obliged to go, be- 
cause the governor told me I could not be engaged without this ; then 
I was employed as officer of recruiting, and went with Captain Strobel 
to the States, and was sent by him to Detroit, in Michigan. 

Q. Did you hear any conversation at any time between certain gen- 
tlemen when Mr. Crampton was present? 

A. Yes, sir, in Halifax, on the 15th of ]£ay, we met Mr. Crampton. 

Q. Who told you to meet him? 

A. Strobel called on me on the 14th of May, and told me to come 



412 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

to the Provincial Building, Halifax, and meet Mr. Crampton and Sir 
Gaspard le Marchant ; and I went, and found there Lieutenant Pres- 
ton and Strobel, and some other officers. 

Q. What took place in that conversation? 

A. That conversation was, that we should go to the United States 
and raise troops. 

Q. Who told you to do that? 

A. Mr. Crampton and Sir Gaspard le Marchant, with Mr. Strobel. 

Q. They said that to Strobel ? 

A. Yes, sir, and that he would go to Canada and the States and 
arrange this, so that we could raise troops without danger. 

Q. What plan did they give you to raise these troops without 
danger ? 

A. That is what they spoke to Captain Strobel. I did not hear 
every word, but heard them tell him that we should go to the States 
and arrange the business, so that we could not be caught by the 
United States officers. 

Q. They told Captain Strobel that he should go to the States and 
arrange business so as not to be caught by the United States officers ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Who told Strobel that? 

A. Mr. Crampton ; he made the arrangements with Strobel, and 
spoke that to Sir Gaspard le Marchant. 

Q. What plan did Mr. Crampton say you were to adopt in the 
States to prevent being caught by the officers ? 

A. That we should do it very still ; not to work too openly ; and 
that we should engage runners and any other men who would bring 
men to the depots, and from these depots we were to send them to 
Canada West to the barracks. 

Q. What kind of runners did he speak of your engaging ? 

A. Boarding-house runners, emigration runners, commission-house 
runners, and every kind of runners, I believe. 

Q. Did he say anything in reference to what you were to say to 
these men ? 

A. That every man was to receive $30_, and $5 was to be taken for 
payment of expenses ; that is what I learned from Strobel afterwards 
— that is what was promised the men. 

Q. Was anything said about that in conversation with Mr. 
Crampton ? 

A. No, sir, not to me — it was spoken to Mr. Strobel. 

Q. He told Strobel they were to have $30 ? 

A. Yes, sir, and $8 a month pay — cash. The bounty was given 
for enlisting. Each runner should receive $5 a head for enlistments. 

Q. That was the pay of the runner? 

A. Yes, sir, if the man was capable of being enlisted — not if the 
man was refused. 

Q. Were they to get any pay for men refused? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Then it was only for the men who arrived at the barracks and 
got enlisted that they were paid $4 a head ? 

A. Yes, sir. 






IN THE UNITED STATES. 413 

Q. Did you receive any money at that time for this purpose? 
A. On the 14th of May I received from Captain Strobel $220. 
Q. Where did he get it from? 

A. Out of the Provincial Building. Mr. Bruce McDonald gave 
him the money in my presence. He is the clerk of Mr. Wilkins, or 
second secretary, I do not know which it is ? 
Q. What were you to do with that $220 ? 

A. To run to the United States for these men ; that was the pay 
for half a month for myself and one sergeant. 
Q. Did you see Mr. Crampton after that? 

A. We left the next day, the 19th of May, and we came to Wind- 
sor, in Nova Scotia, and when we got there we took the steamer to 
St. John's. 

Q. Where did you next meet Mr. Crampton? 

A. I saw him in Windsor, and saw him on the ship to St. John's, 
and next day at Portland. At Windsor we took the Creole for St. 
John's, and I saw Mr. Crampton in the presence of Lieutenant Pres- 
ton and another English officer — I do not know his name. He came 
on hoard to us there at St. John's. He talked very often to Captain 
Strobel., and I went in the same ship with him to Portland. 
Q. Did you see him afterwards in Portland? 
A. No, sir ; I know he left the steamer at Portland. 
Q. Where for? 
A. To go to Montreal. 
Q. Who went with him? 

A. I believe Captain Strobel; I took the cars for Boston, and from 
Boston to Niagara Falls. 
Q. For this purpose? 

A. Yes, sir, at Niagara Falls I expected Strobel with orders how we 
should go on. 

Q. You did not see Crampton afterwards? 
A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you see any written instructions at Halifax? 
A, I saw the proclamation. Mr. Wilkins showed me the proclama- 
tion for enlisting. 

Q. (Proclamation with British arms on it shown the witness, same 
as on page 114, ante.) Is that the one? 

A. Yes, sir, I saw that ; Mr. Wilkins gave me one of them; he 
gave it to me in the Provincial Building to read it ; he was secretary 
of Nova Scotia. 

Q. What did he say it was for? 
A. It was for the foreign legion. 

Q . Did he say that this was the - placard under which they were 
acting? 

A. He told me if I should be engaged I should go on to the States 
and raise troops, but that without this I could not be engaged — 
saying what Sir G-aspard said to me. I did not see Mr. Howe ; he was 
not in Halifax at that time ; I heard very often from him. 
Q. Have you at any time seen Mr. Hertz? 
A. Not in this business. 
Q. Did he ever say anything to you about this business? 



414 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

A. No, sir. When I came with Strobel, I heard from Halifax that we 
could not be engaged because we did not do anything in getting men. 

Q. What do you mean by that? 

A. That we did not raise plenty of men, and squandered all the 
money, as they said. 

William Eclcert, sworn. 

This witness did not speak English, and was interpreted by Mr. 
Oehlschlager. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Can you write? 

A. No, sir ; I can read my name ; I knew Mr. Hertz ; I saw him 
at No. 68 South Third street. 

Q. What did you go there for? 

A. I went to enlist ; I wanted to enlist in the British army. 

Q. Did you enlist? 

A. I did not enlist; I went down with a good friend of mine, whom 
I requested to bring me down ; he did not go down with me, but 
suggested to me another who went down with me ; my friend spoke 
for me, and said, "Here is a man who wishes to enter the British 
army." 

Q. Who did he say that to ? 

A. Mr. Bosschart and Mr. Budd. One of the gentlemen answered, 
"We do not busy ourselves with it; we will merely send you to 
Halifax, and then if you wish to serve you can serve, and if you wish 
to work you can work ;" that the men were enlisted in Halifax. My 
friend asked how much bounty money in hand was received, and 
Mr. Budd told him he would receive as bounty $30, and $8 a month. 
Well, then I asked whether there was nothing paid in advance or im- 
mediately, for the few days I would have to remain here. They said 
they gave nothing ; then I went away. They asked me what my 
name was; I did not write it; Mr. Bosschart wrote it. 

Q. Where did he write it? 

A. On a sheet of paper. 

Q. Did you agree to go? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you get a ticket for your passage? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Who gave it to you? 

A. Mr. Hertz. 

Q. When was it he gave it to you — the day you sailed, or before? 

A. On Wednesday afternoon. 

Q. Did you engage to go with the intention of enlisting when you 
got there ? 

Mr. Bemak objected to the question as a leading one. 

Judge Kane. The question is too directly indicative of its answer. 

Mr. Van Dyke. What was it your intention to do when you got to 
Halifax ? 

A. I wanted to go to the Crimea. 

Q. In the " foreign legion?" 

Mr. Remak objected. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 415 

Question by Mr. Van Dyke. In what capacity did you want to go 
to the Crimea ? 

A. As a soldier. 

Q. When Mr. Hertz gave you the ticket to go to New York, did he 
understand that it was your intention to enlist when you arrived at 
Halifax ? 

Mr. Eemak objected. 

Q. Did Mr. Hertz, at the time he gave you a ticket to go to New 
York, know that it was your intention to go to Halifax ? 

Mr. Eemak objected. The objection was overruled. 

A. Mr. Hertz was not there the first day. 

Q. I refer to the time he gave you the ticket ; at the time Mr. Hertz 
gave you the ticket to go to New York, did he know it was your in- 
tention to enlist when you arrived at Halifax ? 

A. Mr. Hertz was not there when my friend brought me to the 
office. 

Q. You have said that Mr. Hertz gave you a ticket to go to New 
York ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. At the time Mr. Hertz gave you the ticket to go to New York, 
did he know it was your intention to enlist ? 

A. I do not know whether the other gentleman told me the reason 
why he wished me to go to New York. 

Q. Had you told Mr. Budd your intention ? 

Mr. Eemak objected. The objection was overruled. 

A. He heard it. 

Q. On Monday ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

The counsel for the defence, (Mr. Eemak,) in the course of the exam- 
ination of this witness, frequently interrupted, and attempted to cor- 
rect the interpreter in his interpretation of the language of the wit- 
ness. On the conclusion of the examination, he called Mr. Oehlschlager 
to the stand, for the purpose of questioning him as to his interpreta- 
tion of the witness, but on after consideration waived the examination. 

Augustus Titus, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Hertz ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Which is the person? 

Witness (pointing to Hertz.) That is the gentleman sitting there. 

Q. State what you know of this matter ? 

A. Well, I was here in this city without work, and I had no board- 
ing house to go to, as my landlady had told me to leave ; so I read of 
this place in the Ledger, and went down and saw Mr. Budd there, and 
a couple of other gentlemen ; I went in and asked them if this was the 
place where they enlisted them, and I was told 

Q. Who did you ask that ? 

A. The gentleman is not here — he was a stranger to me. Mr. Hertz 
was not there the first time. 

Q. How long was this before you sailed ? 

A. It was about 3 o'clock in the afternoon of day before. Then I 



416 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

was told that I could not see the agent now, that he was out, and to 
come in two hours after that time. I came in, and I saw Mr. Budd, 
and he asked me my name ; and I told him my name, and he wrote it 
down on a sheet of paper. 

Judge Kane. How came he to ask your name ? 

-A. Well, I don't know, without he wanted to put it down. 

Q. Did you tell him what you wanted ? 

A. I asked him if this was the place where they enlisted, and he 
said no, it was not the place where they enlisted, but the place where 
they got men to take them to Halifax. 

Q. For what purpose ? 

A. For enlisting. I gave them my name. My intention was only 
to go to New York. I was going to New York, and there I was going 
to leave them. 

Q. Did you tell them that was your intention ? 

A. No, sir, I did not ; I kept that to myself. 

Q. You were going to out-wit them, then, I suppose ? 

A. Well, I was going to try to ; I did not know whether I would 
succeed. 

Q. What did you tell them you intended to do? 

A. I told them I intended to go out to Halifax for the purpose of 
enlisting. 

Q. When did you see Hertz ? 

A. On the morning we sailed I saw him ,; I went up to the office 
and asked him what boat I was to go on, and he said that he would 
be down and make arrangements. There were Mr. Hertz, Mr. Budd, 
Mr. Bosschart, and another gentleman standing talking together, and 
I went down to the boat and waited until Mr. Hertz came down. I 
cannot say whether he came with Budd or not. I stopped down at 
the boat, and before we started Mr. Budd went around the wharf to 
see whether any one else was off the boat, and when he found there 
was none there, he came on board, and just before we commenced to 
start he called us all up. He did not form us into a rank. Sometimes 
he came to us one by one, and sometimes two or three were collected 
together, and he would ask our names. We told him our names, and 
he marked a cross I think. I won't say it was a cross ; it was a mark 
of his own on the paper. At that time we went down to the navy 
yard, when Marshal Wyncoop caught us. [Laughter.] 

Q. Did you get a ticket ? 

A. Yes, sir, I got a ticket of Mr. Budd, at 68 South Third street. 
Mr. Hertz was not there at the time. I can read. 

Q. (Ticket shown.) Is that the ticket ? 

A. That is the color of the card (green) I got. On the back was 
"Pine St. Wharf," and those are the letters ("N. S. K. C") I have 
had them in my head from that day to this, and will ever remember 
them. 

Judge Kane. Perhaps you can tell us what those letters mean ? 

A. No, sir, I cannot. They stand for something I am not able to 
tell. 

Q. You say you can read. (Paper shown.) Is that the paper he 
marked your name on ? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 417 

A. Well, I cannot say whether it was a whole sheet or half sheet. 
He had it lying on a table. 

Q. Well, your name is on that sheet? 

A. Yes, sir, my name is on there, No. 9. 

Mr. Van Dyke. Is there any cross-examination ? 

Mr. Cuyler. There is a frankness about this witness that quite dis- 
arms cross-examination. 

Charles Weaver, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Hertz? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Can you point him out here? 

A. (Pointing to Hertz.) That is the gentleman. 

Q. Did you see him in March, 1855 ? 

A. Yes, sir, down in Third street. 

Q. What did you go there for ? 

A. I went down because I heard from some of my friends that they 
were enlisting soldiers for the British army there. I went down — it 
was an hour before they started — and I asked him whether he enlisted 
men to go into the British army. He said no, I do not enlist, but if 
you want to be enlisted I will give you a ticket to New York, and 
from there the officer would give me a ticket to Halifax. 

Q. Did you tell him you would enlist in Halifax ? 

A. No, sir, I did not tell him that ; I told him I wanted to enlist, 
and he gave me a ticket ; he did not give me any money ; he took my 
name. 

Q. Was it written in a book or on paper? 

A. I suppose it was written on a sheet of paper ; Mr. Hertz took 
my name — he wrote it. 

Q. Did you go on board the boat? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. (Ticket shown.) Was it one of these tickets that you had ? 

A. Yes, sir, I had one of that kind ; I went down to Pine street 
wharf ; Mr. Hertz was there the day the boat sailed ; I went down with 
a friend of mine to the boat ; I saw this man, Mr. Bosschart, there, 
and he said this is the boat that goes to New York ; Mr. Budd was 
on the boat — he was in command ; he took my name on board the 
boat, and called us together the same as an officer ; there were twelve 
or thirteen men together, and he had command of them ; that is what 
I saw ; he took the names on the list, and as he took them he called 
us together, and told us to go on that side or this ; he mustered us 
into rank. 

Mr. Cuyler. What do you understand by mustering into rank? 

A. Well, we stood in a line, and he said, fall in. 

Q. Who told you that? 

A. This young gentleman, (pointing to Budd.) 

Q. That is not Mr. Hertz ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Who is it? 

A. Mr. Budd ; that is the gentleman. 
27 a 



418 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Patrick Oonroy, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. You have been examined before in this case. 

A. Yes, sir, before the commissioner. 

Q. State to the court and jury what you know in this matter, and 
what you have heard from either of these defendants, Hertz or 
Perkins ? 

A. I never saw Hertz but at the United States commissioner's 
office ; I had the conversation about this matter with Mr. Perkins. 

Q. State when you had that conversation, and what it was? 

A. Well, I was introduced to Mr. Perkins at the Pennsylvanian 
office. Is it necessary for me to state all of this matter ? 

Mr. Van Dyke. If it relates to the issue now on trial, state all. 

Witness. I was introduced to Mr. Perkins at the Pennsylvanian 
office some time last December, I suppose in that neighborhood ; and 
a few days afterwards I had a conversation with him at Mr. McG-eoy's 
hotel, in Walnut street, in which he said there were things he might 
wish to talk to me about. I did not understand it at the time, and 
not knowing what he meant, I did not say anything. The next time I 
met him was at the Pennsylvanian office again ; he was about leaving 
it in the evening, and was cursing and ready to kill all about the office, 
damning everybody in the office ; I asked him what was the rnatter, 
and he took me by the arm, and we walked down a little ; he said 
that he had just been writing a letter to one of the lords in England, 
who had charge of the government there ; that he had everything 
right with the Pennsylvanian newspaper here, so far as siding with 
the ' government against Eussia was concerned ; and the first thing 
he saw that morning was an article directly against what he had 
written to England, and that the Pennsylvanian had deceived him. 
I passed it off carelessly, as I did not care what was going on between 
him and the Pennsylvanian or the British government. I met him 
again some time afterward in the Exchange Hotel, and he called 
me to one side, and told me that it was necessary to raise a certain 
amount of men in this country for the purpose of raising a legion to 
go to the Crimea. I asked him how it was, and he said that such was 
the case. I asked him if there was any danger in enlisting men in 
this country for that purpose, for I had heard that there was, and he 
said no ; that he had been down to Washington and fixed all that. 
He said that Mr. Crampton sent for him, and when he went to Cramp- 
ton he sent him to Marcy ; and when Marcy asked him all about it, 
he said he humbugged him about it, and told him that he was only 
going to send the men to Halifax to dig a canal ; that Mr. Marcy, in 
reply, remarked that he was a pretty cunning fellow, and then it all 
passed^ over ; it was all fixed, and there was no more danger at all 
about it ; he then said to me that if I would choose to take a part in 
the matter, he could guaranty me a commission in the legion for a 
certain number of men, and for a less number he could guaranty a 
non-commission ; that if I would take an interest in the matter he 
would fix things for me, but that it would take two or three months 
to do so ; that I knew there were a great many men over the country 
who were suffering from bad times, and who could be enlisted, and 
that he would make it to my interest to do so. I told him I would 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 419 

think about it. The next time I saw him he was going directly from 
his office in Third street ; from the steps of his office he went down 
to Campbell's cellar in Third street. He was there a minute or more, 
and then he came up and came over to me opposite the Exchange 
Hotel ; he took me by the arm and pulled me to one side and asked 
me if J had done anything in that matter yet ; I said no, I did not 
intend to do anything in the matter myself, but there were friends 
that might ; he then said to me that he could not guaranty a commis- 
sion in the regular army, but he could in the foreign legion, and if I 
had friends who would take such positions he would guaranty them 
the same ; and if I saw any who wanted to enlist, to send them over 
to the office, 68 South Third street ; I said I would do so, and he then 
remarked, I am now in a hurry ; I am going down to the British con- 
sul's ; I have news from Washington, and I will see you when I 
come back. I had no more conversation with him on the subject, 
except that he told me he was an agent of the British government, 
and had three or four hundred men to look after in this country, and 
pay them. He told me that, on the occasion when he had to see me in 
a hurry ; he repeatedly told me that he was an agent of the British 
government, and solicited my assistance in all these ways for the pur- 
pose of raising men for the foreign legion. 

Q. Did he tell you where the enlisting was done? 

A. He did ; he pointed over to the office, No. 68 South Third 
street. 

Q. Where was he at the time ? 

A. Standing on the steps of Durar's Exchange Hotel. 

Q. How long before the arrest of Hertz? 

A. Some two or three weeks. 

Q. Are you in the volunteer corps ? 

A. Yes, sir ; I hold the commission of colonel. 

Q. Did he ask you anything about the commission you had? 

A. Yes, sir ; he asked me what commission I held, and I told him 
colonel of the second regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers ; and he 
said he could guaranty me a captaincy if I would go ; and he knew 
from my position here that I could be of use to them, and he would 
make it of use to me. I have now stated pretty near the whole sub- 
stance of the conversations. We had a great many other conversa- 
tions, but there was nothing stronger in them. 

Q. Did he tell you at any time, or do you know, that he actually 
engaged any person to go to Halifax for the purpose of enlisting ; and,, 
if so, what person ? 

A. I do not, sir ; I know he tried to engage me. 

Q. Did he not engage you ? 

A. No, sir ; I refused him, and he tried to get me to solicit others 
to do so. 

Question by Mr. G-illou. He said that you could be useful t® him 
in that line of business ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You are in business in this city? 

A. Yes, sir. 



420 BRITISH RECRTHTMENT 

Edward W. Power sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Are you a military man ? 

A. I belong to a military company, and bold a commission. 

Q. Do you know anything about Hertz ? 

A. I do ; I was at bis office in South Tbird street about the 20th 
or 21st of March, or thereabouts ; I went to 68 South Third street, 
and went up stairs into a back room, and there I found some five or 
six men sitting around the table ; I spoke first to this gentleman here, 
I think, Mr. Leob ; I asked him whether that was the place in which 
they enlist men for the Crimea ; he said that this gentleman (pointing 
to Mr. Hertz) was the person. I then turned to him and asked him 
what were the inducements offered to those men who had served in 
Mexico during the war. He said that any man who could come with 
a company, and be capable of commanding them, would be entitled to 
a commission in the English army ; that this legion was for the pur- 
pose of going to the Crimea. He asked me if I was connected with 
anything here. I told him that I was ; that I then held a commis- 
sion ; and he asked me then what number of men there were. Well, 
I said, we numbered from 60 to 64, but there were not more than 30 
equipped. He then seemed anxious that I should call again. I left 
him with the promise that I would call again ; I did so, in company 
with Peter Somers, who was formerly first lieutenant of the Conti- 
nental Guards ; I went there and introduced Mr. Somers under a fic- 
titious name ; I did that for the purpose of ascertaining how they sent 
the men away, so as to have him ascertain that fact. We had a con- 
versation, for the second time, with Mr. Hertz, and Somers laughed, 
and I thought the joke was being carried too far, and I kind of smiled, 
and then I saw the whole thing was settled, and we retired. On the 
27th, the night before the arrest, a man by the name of Renners, I 
think, came to the armory while I was drilling the company. 

Q. Was Mr. Hertz there? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know whether Perkins had anything to do with that 
office? 

A. Yes, sir ; the second time that I went there ; that was on the 
Saturday Mr. Perkins was sitting in the front room. 

Q. When you land at the top of the staircase going up, you go 
into the back room of that office first, do you not ? 

A. Yes, sir, and that makes the front room the back room ; there 
were two folding-doors between the two rooms, and they were partly 
open ; the room fronting on Third street was used as the back or pri- 
vate office, and the back room as the front office. There was a fall 
man there, from whose' appearance and manner I supposed was an 
English officer, or one engaged in the English service. Perkins was 
sitting on a chair leaning back, and as he saw me he drew his head back. 

Q. Do you know iom any conversation you had with Perkins, or 
are you aware that Perkins has ever engaged any individual to go to 
Halifax to enlist ? 

A. Well, I would not, may it please the court, like to answer that 
question, because it would, to certain extent, criminate me, so far as 
the law of the State is concerned. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 421 

Mr. Van Dyke. I did not ask you anything regarding yourself 
with Perkins. 

Q. Do you know whether he has engaged, hired, or retained, or 
made a bargain with any other individual ? 

A. I know that he left me one evening to go to New York for the 
purpose of attending to some business for Mr. Crampton. 

Q. You do not exactly comprehend my question. Do you know 
whether he ever said to any individual, "I want you to go," or did 
he engage any individual to go to Halifax ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know what he was doing in the front office when you 
saw him there ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. What was your conversation at that time ? 

A. Mr. Hertz and I were speaking together about this company. 

Q. Was that the only time you saw him there ? 

A. I saw him afterwards come out. I went there with a number 
of persons, who waited on the outside to hear what was to be said, as 
they were determined that the thing should be broken up ; and as we 
stood on the other side, Mr. Perkins came out and went down into 
Campbell's cellar, and then he came out and over to the other side, 
and spoke to Conroy and some others with him. My introduction to 
Perkins was that he came with a note to me as the second of a gentle- 
man who had challenged a friend of mine to fight a duel. 

Q. He told you he was going to New York to see Crampton ? 

A. Yes, sir, he said he had business with him ; he told me that in 
Brown's drug store. 

Q. Did he tell you what business ? 

A. No, sir ; he told me that he had a great deal of business to do 
now ; that he was connected with the railroad, and had to see his 
friend Mr. Crampton in New York. 

Hugh Casey, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Hertz. 

A . Yes, sir. 

Q. (Pointing to Hertz.) Is that the gentleman ? 

A. That is the gentleman. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Budd? 

A. Yes, sir, (pointing to Budd,) that's him. 

Q. Did you go to the office, No. 68 South Third street? 

A. Yes, sir, I went there, and Mr. Hertz and I had a conversation. 
I saw in the Ledger that they were enlisting for the foreign legion 
there, and I went down and saw Mr. Hertz, and he told me to come 
back and he would give me a ticket ; I went there on Friday, and he 
gave me a ticket to sail on board the boat with, and twelve-and-a- 
half cents, and told me that the boat would sail on Sunday, the 25th ; 
I went back on Saturday with three other men who enlisted with me, 
and he gave me a quarter of a dollar. On Saturday afternoon, I 
went back again, and he gave me nine cents ; and on Sunday I went 
down to the boat, and she "had sailed. I went to the office on Mon- 
day, and Mr. Hertz was not there, but Mr. Budd was there, and he 



422 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

told me to come back on Wednesday, and he would give me a ticket. 
On Wednesday I went down. 

Q. What did you do with the ticket you got on the first occa- 
sion ? 

A. I gave that ticket up. I guess you have it now. On Wednes- 
day I went down there, and met Budd at the steamboat with Hertz. 
Mr. Hertz saw me and told me to go on board. I went on board the 
steamboat, and there I saw the rest of the men had tickets in their 
hands, and I had none ; and then I went up to the office, thinking 
that Hertz was there, to get a ticket, and when I came back the boat 
had sailed. 

Q. Did Hertz give you the first ticket ? 

A. No, sir, Mr. Buck! gave me the ticket himself for Sunday ; I do 
not recollect getting it on Saturday ; the 31st of March I saw Mr. 
Hertz. 

Q. When you got back from the office you say the boat had sailed? 

A. Yes, sir ; I went up to the office in Third street, and when I 
came back the boat had sailed ; it was the " Menemon Sanford ;" I 
then came back, and I saw Mr. Hertz on Saturday in Mr. Heazlitt's 
(I think that is his name) office ; he was looking for bail, and I went 
over to him, and Hertz said to me : "Who is going your bail ?" and 
I said, "I do not want any bail, because I came out of the boat to get 
a passenger ticket, and did not go ; " and he then said : " Do you 
want a little money ? " and told me to stop around by-and-bye, and 
he would give me some money ; I went around at 4 o'clock. Mr. 
Eemak and he went up to Seventh and Chestnut streets, and I waited 
in the room until he came back, when he gave me twenty-five cents, 
and said to me: "You will go and swear against me, and be damned 
to you." 

Q. Did you tell him what you wanted to go to Halifax for ? 

A. I said times were very hard, and I would like to go to Halifax 
for the purpose of enlisting in the foreign legion for the Crimea ; and 
then he said that he would give me tickets to go there, and that I 
would get $30 bounty, and $8 a month, but that he could give me no 
money until I went on to Halifax. 

Cross-examined by Mr. Kemak : Did you not tell some people that 
you were going to see Mr. Van Dyke, and get him to send you to 
prison for the purpose of your support ? 

A. I did not, sir, use that expression ; I told a person that I met 
on the street that I was fooled by the party, and that Mr. Hertz in- 
sulted me, and I would go as state's evidence against him. 

Philip Label sworn. As this witness could not speak the English 
language, Mr. Davis was, at the request of Mr. Eemak, affirmed as 
his interpreter. 

Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Hertz ? 

A. Yes, sir, (pointing to Hertz,) that is the gentleman sitting 
there. 

Q. State all you know about the enlisting ? 

A. I read in the Democrat that some persons were required to go 
to Halifax ; and I went to the office, No. 68 South Third street, and 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 423 

made some inquiries there if that was the place for enlisting ; I 
made the inquiries of Mr. Bosschart ; I then inquired if they en- 
gaged some people there ; they told me that they desired to engage 
some persons to go to Halifax, in order to work there ; I then asked 
him if I could become a soldier if I went there ; he made the reply 
that it was left optional to me to do so or not ; that those who are 
willing to become soldiers may do so, and those who wish to work 
may do so too. 

Q. Did you say whether you were willing to become a soldier, and 
that you wanted to become such ? 

A. No, sir, I did not intend to go there as a soldier ; I made the 
inquiry, if after a person got there he enlisted, what he received ; I 
was then told there was $30 bounty and $8 a month. 

Q. Who told you that? 

A. The same man, Mr. Bosschart. 

Q. What conversation, if any, took place between you and Hertz? 

A. The first day that I came there I saw this gentleman there ; I 
then inquired what time the vessel would go ; he told me that he did 
not know — that Mr. Hertz was not in, and he could not tell me ; I 
went there again on the following day and saw Mr. Hertz, and he 
handed me a card. 

Q. (Ticket shown, same as on page 114, ante.) Was it a card like 
that? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you sign any paper? 

A. No, sir, I did not ; that gentleman put my name down on some 
paper ; Mr. Bosschart did so. 

Q. Did you go to the vessel ? 

A. Yes, sir. Mr. Hertz told me where the vessel was, and I went 
towards it, that is all ; I went on board, and that is all. 

Q. Did you go to Halifax? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Why not? 

A. Because we were arrested before then. 

Q. Who had command of you on the boat? 

A. Mr. Budd. 

James Johnson, sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Witness. Matthew Burk is my proper name ; you will see it so on 
Mr. Hertz's list. 

Q. How came you to get the name of James Johnson ? 

A. I did not wish my name to be published in the papers, so that 
my friends would know it ; I gave my proper name to the court at the 
time. 

Q. Why did you not want your real name known? 

A. I did not want my friends to know that I was made a prisoner. 

Q. Did you not give that name under oath? 

A. No, sir, I did not ; I told the commissioner and the grand jury, 
and you, my proper name, and the circumstances of it. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Hertz? 

A. Yes, sir. 



424 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. When did you see him ? 

A. I saw him on the 27th of March. 

Q. Did you see him before that? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Were you on the boat? 

A. Yes, sir — in the steamer Menemon Sanford, on the river Dela- 
ware. 

Q. Had you seen Mr. Hertz before that? 

A. I saw him the day before, at 68 South Third street. We were 
taken on a Wednesday. 

Q. How came you to go to his office ? 

A. I called first on Monday. I saw the advertisement in the 
Ledger of men wanting. I did not read it myself, but another man 
read it for me, and I went to see. Mr. Budd was there. I told him 
I had called from seeing the advertisement of soldiers wanted, and I 
said that I wanted to enlist. Mr. Budd told me that I could not be 
enlisted there, but that he could tell me how I could get to Halifax, 
and said that I supposed that would do to get to Halifax. He then 
told me I must come once again. I called again that afternoon, which 
was Monday afternoon, and he told me that a boat had gone before, 
and it was a pity I had not been sooner. I called again on Tuesday, 
and Mr. Hertz was there. I told Hertz my business, that I had come 
to enlist, and the reply he made I cannot tell now, but it was " very 
well," or something to that effect. He told me to stay a while, and 
I staid a while, and some more men came. I told him my name, and 
he wrote it down on a sheet of paper. He also wrote some others. I 
told him, when he was going to write it, that another man had writ- 
ten it the day before, and he said, " Very well, I will take it again." 

Q. (Paper shown.) Is that the paper on which your name was writ- 
ten? 

A. That is my name on it, though I cannot say whether it is the 
paper on which Mr. Budd wrote my name the first day. I called on 
Hertz the day after. He did not tell me what bounty I would receive ; 
I did not inquire. He gave a ticket, and I was to go down to the 
boat. 

Q. (The " N. S. E. C." ticket shown.) Was it a ticket like that? 

A. I actually believe it was one of those green tickets. I think so, 
but would not swear positively that it was a green ticket, though I 
actually do believe it was one. I recollect its having those letters 
("N. S. E. C.")onit. 

Q. What did he tell you to do with the ticket? 

A. He told me I was to go down and go on board at Pine street 
wharf. I then went away, and called back again to the office, and I 
asked him u was I to go on board and say nothing to no one, or was 
there to be anybody there to receive me ? ; ' He told me to go down 
between nine and ten, and go straight on board, and to tell the rest, 
if I saw them, to go on at the same time. I went next morning and 
did so, and went on board the boat, and was taken about to the navy 
yard, when they brought us back again. 

Q. What took place when you got on board the boat? 

A. I saw Mr. Budd on board the boat, and we were called together,, 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 425 

and an exchange of tickets took place. We were going on, and, I 
thought, in a fair way for Canada ; and the next news that I heard 
was that we were all made prisoners. 

Q. Did Mr. Budd call you together ? 

A. Yes, sir ; he was there, acting as a kind of officer, or man in 
authority. He did not put us in military form, but called us to- 
gether. 

Cross-examination by Mr. Kemak : 

Q. How much money have you received from the United States as 
witness' fees? 

Mr. Van Dyke objected. You need not answer that question. 

Mr. Kemak. I only wanted the jury to know. You need not mind. 

Peter Muhn sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Hertz? 

A. Yes, sir, I have known him since the 26th of March. I first 
saw him in the office, No. 68 South Third street. 

Q. How came you to go there? 

A. There was a man told me that there was an office to send men 
to Halifax to work. I was out of work and went there. That was 
on Monday afternoon, and I found nobody there but Mr. Budd and 
that young man there, Mr. Bosschart. He told me to come next day, 
when Mr. Hertz would be home, and then I could know all about it. 
I went there next day, and he said yes, he sent men to Halifax, to 
work. 

Q. What kind of work? 

A. Any work that you pleased ; and if I did not like it there^I 
could get a free ticket back here again ; and that if I wanted to go in 
the army, I would get $30 bounty and $8 a month. He told me to 
come in again about 2 o'clock, and he would tell me all about it. I 
went in about 2 o'clock, and he said that Budd was going off next 
day at 10 o'clock, and he gave me a ticket. 

Q. What colored ticket was it — red, yellow, blue, or green? 

A. I do not recollect; one of the green, I guess. (Ticket shown.) 
That is like it ; Pine street wharf was on the back of it. 

Q. You went to Pine street wharf? 

A. Yes, sir, and I went on the boat. 

Q. Whom did you meet there? 

A. I met Mr. Budd ; he was there, and he took command of us. 

Q. Did you ever see Hertz down there? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You were arrested that day, were you not? 

A. Yes, sir. 

John Jenkins sworn. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. You are deputy marshal? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Will you state whether you had a warrant, in the latter end of 
March, for the arrest. of certain parties, and whom? 

A. The marshal had a warrant for the arrest of Hertz and others, 
and I accompanied him. 



426 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. State what you did then? 

A. The marshal directed me to go on board the steamer Sanford, 
and arrest the party that were there. I arrested Mr. Budd, together 
with some twelve or fifteen men, whose names I do not remember. 
The marshal himself afterwards went to the office of Mr. Hertz, and 
there arrested Mr. Hertz, Mr. Bosschart, and two others — four in all, 
I think. 

Q. Mr. Hertz was among them? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You arrested these men ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. (" N. S. B. C." tickets shown.) Do you know these tickets? 

A. Each of the men had tickets similar to those upon their person. 
I took them from them. 

Q. (N. Y. steamer ticket shown.) Do you recollect that? 

A. I do not recollect that. 

Q. (Book of Dr., containing cash account, shown.) Do you re- 
member that book ? 

A. No, sir, I do not. 

Q. (Book containing list of names shown.) Do you remember that 
book? 

A. Yes, sir, I remember that book. I found it in the secretary, 
which Mr. Hertz called his private secretary, in the enlisting office. 
He gave me the key, and I opened it. 

Q. (Beceipt shown.) Did you find that there ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

The receipt was read in evidence, as follows : 

"Philadelphia, March 25, 1855. 

"Beceived of Mr. Hertz $84 for passengers to Halifax. 

A. WINSOB." 

Q. Did you find this receipt of the Ledger for advertising one and 
two-thirds squares half a month, $9 50, dated March 16, 1855, at the 
office, No. 63 South Third street? 

A. Yes, sir, it was in the secretary ; I recollect it. 

Q. Did you find the receipt of the Pennsylvanian there? 

A. Yes, sir; (this receipt will be found on page 144 ante.) 

Question by Mr. Bemak. Is Mr. Hertz's name in that receipt? 

Mr. Van Dyke. No, sir, it is not. 

Q. ("N.S.B. C." ticket shown.) Did you find any number of these 
tickets there? 

A. Yes, sir, they were similar to these. 

Q. What did you do with them? 

A. I gave them to you. 

Q. Do you recollect whether you arrested Michael Gilroy, as part of 
that company ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. On the boat? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Hugh Casey? 

A. Yes, sir. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 427 

Q. Jarnes Johnson ? 

A. I do not remember the name. 

Q. Charles "Weaver ? 

A. I do not remember the name. 

Q. Peter Muhn? 

A. I do not remember that. 

Q. Philip Label? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Augustus Titns ? 

A. I remember that. 

Q. Bremen Kernsten ? 

A. I do not remember that. 

Q. William Finley ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You remember Titus, you say ? 

A. Yes, sir, I believe they all were the parties on the boat, but I 
do not remember the names at this time, nor did I hear the names at 
that time ; I remember Gilroy, Titus, and Casey. 

Q. (Paper shown.) Do you remember that paper ? 

A. Yes, sir, I got that in his office ; it was on the file ? 

The paper was read in evidence, as follows : 

" Philadelphia, 2Qt7i of 3d month, 1856. 

" This is to certify, that Mr. Julinas Lyncksis in sound health and 
fit for any service. 

"BEIL, Doctor." 

Q. (Papers shown witness.) Do you remember those ? 

A. Yes, sir, these were in the secretary. 

Mr. Van Dyke. The one is the paper which Mr. Budd stated con- 
tained the names of the persons he took, and the other appears to be 
a copy of the recruiting book. 

Examined by Mr. Remak. Did Mr. Hertz, on the day of his arrest, 
give you the key of his office and the key of his desk pf his own ac- 
cord, freely? 

A. I demanded them. 

Q. Did he give them without any hesitation? 

A. I demanded them through you, and after consultation with him 
you directed Hertz to give them to me. 

Q. Did he give them of his own accord, or did I ask him ? 

A. I think that it was after you directed him to do it. I do not 
think I had any conversation with Mr. Hertz about the keys — it was 
with you. 

Q. I think, in your examination before the commissioner, you said 
that at the time Hertz gave you the keys, and I had no objections. 

Q. By Mr. Guillou. You mentioned that you arrested a number of 
persons on the boat, and you also said that you arrested at the office 
Hertz, and some others whom you did not mention. You did not ar- 
rest Mr. Perkins there? 

A. No, sir, the marshal arrested Perkins. He was not at Mr. 
Hertz's office, or upon the boat. I do not know where he was when 
he was arrested. 



428 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Edward G. Webb affirmed. Examined by Mr. Van Dyke. 

Q. Are you acquainted with Mr. Perkins? 

A. I am. 

Q. Have you ever had any conversation with him, previous to the 
28th of March, in relation to recruiting for the British service? 

Q. Yes, sir ; I cannot speak as to the date, but during the time the 
enlistment was going on in Third street, opposite Dock, I met Mr. 
Perkins in Dock street, I think at the corner of Third and Dock, and 
we walked down as far as Walnut and Dock streets, and there 
stopped ; a conversation arose between us as to the enlistment going 
on, or said to be going on, in one of those buildings on Third street ; 
he stated he was hiring men at $1 25 a clay, and sending them to Can- 
ada or Nova Scotia, or some other place in the British provinces ; I 
asked him for what purpose — whether they were to go in the foreign 
legion to serve in the Crimea ; he said he employed them nominally 
for the purpose — I do not know whether I use his language, but I 
give the idea — of working upon a railroad ; I remarked to him that I 
thought they would find their way into the barracks, and he said he 
had no doubt of that, or he supposed so, or something of that sort. 

Q. Did he state to you at any time whether he was doing this at the 
suggestion or by the advice of any higher authorities than himself? 

A. He did ; he told me he had not been long from Washington, 
and that he had had an interview with Crampton, the British minis- 
ter, while there, in relation to this subject, and that he had been called 
to Washington in consequence of some disclosures made in Philadel- 
phia, or other places, about the matter ; I understood him to say that 
he or Crampton waited upon Mr, Marcy, or that Crampton told him 
that he had seen Mr. Marcy and had entered into an explanation about 
the course they had pursued in Philadelphia ; and that after he had 
explained, Mr. Marcy either clapped him upon the shoulder — Perkins 
or Crampton, I do not now distinctly recollect which — and said, "You 
are a cunning dog, you have not violated any law of this country." 

Q. Did he tell you what he was doing? 

A. He said he had employed a large number of men ; he mentioned 
the number, but it has escaped my memory ; that he employed them 
at $1 25 a day to go into the British provinces, nominally to work 
upon the railroad, but really to go into the army. 

Mr. Guillou. Did he say that? 

A. That is not his precise language, but that is the idea ; it is im- 
possible for me to recollect his language. 

Q. Give the substance of it ? 

A. As near as I recollect, he said he had employed a large number 
of men, and had dispatched, I think he said, 500 already, nominally 
to work upon the railroad in one of the provinces, but he expected 
that they would find their way to the barracks. I asked him whether 
he did not employ them for that purpose. Well, (he said,) he did 
not care a damn where they went after they got there ; that his pur- 
pose was to get them there, and then they might take care of them- 
selves. 

Q. Did he say that the British authorities would take care of them 
after they got there ? 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 429 

A. I cannot say, with accuracy, whether he did or not. He talked 
very fast ; he was in a talking mood, and said a good deal ; I saw 
from his flushed face that he was in a talkative way. 

Q. Did he at any time try to get you to write editorials in your 
paper on this British question ? 

A. He did. He was in the hahit of coming into the Pennsylvanian 
office nightly and daily, long hefore I knew who he was. After he 
had heen coming there several weeks, he ventured into the editorial 
department, and conversed with the telegraphic reporter, Mr. John- 
son ; he entered into conversation nightly with me upon the subject 
of the war in the Crimea, and contended that the democratic party 
ought to take ground in favor of the allies ; that, in fact, the United 
States, as a general thing, should do so, because she was the daughter 
of Great Britain ; our people spoke the same language, and were edu- 
cated in the same literature, and so on ; he frequently grew warm 
upon the subject, and I listened to him ; and repeatedly while he was 
talking upon that subject, I was writing an article against the allies, 
and combatting his argument as he was progressing. 

Q. Which is Mr. Perkins? 

A. I know him very well — I have seen him almost every day ; but 
I do not see him now in the room. 

Mr. Guillou. There is no difficulty about that. 

Witness. He always said that he was an agent of the British gov- 
ernment, and that he was in correspondence with Lord Palmerston, 
and I think Lord Clarendon. He gave me to understand that he was 
a tory, and that the tory party in England was the only party that 
knew anything, [laughter ;] that they were always able to carry on 
the government properly ; and that the whig party was composed of 
dunces, [laughter ;] who always got into difficulties, and were the 
bitter enemies of this country. He said that he was a correspondent 
to several newspapers, and mentioned particularly the Times ; and 
stated that he had, with every mail, sent a file of the Pennsylvanian 
to Europe, to the Times. He also spoke of Lord Brougham, and said 
that he was in correspondence with him. 

Q. Did he say the correspondence was on this subject? 

A. No, sir, I do not think he did. 

Q. Did he mention the subject? 

A. He was talking about this subject at the time he said this. He 
complained about the tone of the articles in the Pennsylvanian, and 
showed a good deal of feeling. He said that he had written to his 
employers in Europe, and had assured them that the democratic press 
in this country was all right, which I believe did not happen to be the 
case, [laughter ;] and that they would think it very strange that he 
should give them such information when they found the tenor of the 
articles against the allies so ultra, and so strongly in favor of Kussia. 

Judge Kane. Did he classify Brougham among the whigs or the 
tories ? 

Witness. I do not remember whether he classified him or not ; h© 
said he corresponded with him. 

Mr. Guillou. May it please your honor, he was like the man in 
the play ; " he received letters from Constantinople." [Laughter.] 



430 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

Q. Did he speak of this as confidential ? 

Witness. Yes, sir, he did, and remarked on several occasions that 
what he told me was contained in some letters which he had just re- 
ceived, but could not show the letters to me. [Laughter.] 

Judge Kane. Was there any relation between you and him which 
would have suggested the propriety of his telling you this ? 

A. No, sir ; he is excessively talkative, but is a man of large inforni- 
ation^ obtained by travel, and is a man of education. He spoke of 
his being lieutenant in the British army in India, and was promoted 
to a captaincy by the brevet ; that he had been there, and was in Hin- 
doostan and- in that terrible fight in the mountains of Affghanistan 
where the British army was literally destroyed. He also spoke of his 
wounds, but never showed them. [Laughter.] He also spoke of his 
having been directed to superintend the embarkation of troops to some 
part of Africa or Hindoostan. 

Question by Mr. Van Dyke. You are the editor of the Pennsylva- 
nian ? 

A. lam. 

Q. And that is what induced this conversation with you ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You were at the time editor ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Judge Kane. And your press was at the time unfriendly to his 
projects ? 

A. It has been during the year and a half that I have been editor, 
and was so, I think, before. I did not like the threatening remarks 
towards the United States of some of the gentlemen high in power in 
England and France, and I thought we had better take care of our- 
selves, and put our house in order ; and, therefore, I wanted the allies 
soundly drubbed. 

Question by Mr. Van Dyke. I believe you have stated, in substance, 
everything ? 

A. As far as I recollect. 

Q. Did he at any time say he engaged or retained any person to go 
to Halifax with the intention of being enlisted after he got there ? 

A. Well, he spoke in general terms, and left the impression upon 
my mind that he had employed those men for that purpose, and had 
some understanding with them that, after they got there, they were 
to go into the barracks. He may have mentioned them by name, but 
I have no recollection of it ; he left the impression upon my mind that 
they were employed for that purpose. 

Q. Have you stated fully the conversation which he repeated to you 
as having had with Crampton upon that subject ? 

A. I cannot recollect it ; he talked a good deal upon that subject, 
and endeavored to impress me with the idea that he was a very great 
man, and knew the secrets of the British cabinet. 

Q. You were never at this recruiting office, No. 68 S. Third street ? 

A. I passed by it daily, and saw something was going on ; but did 
not know what. I saw several persons going in and out, and saw him 
repeatedly come out, which led me to suspect that he was a party in 
the matter. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 431 

Cross-examined by Mr. G-illou : 

Q. I do not think you understand a question of the judge. He 
asked you whether the opinion expressed in the Pennsylvanian was 
adverse to the project of the defendant, and, as I understand you, 
you answered that it was adverse to the war in Europe ? 

A. It has been against this project of enlisting, and it has been 
very severe. It was the first that denounced it and exposed it. 

Q. State whether Perkins is not a man who talks a great deal ? 

A. Yes, sir, he talks incessantly. He is a man of large informa- 
tion, obtained by travel, and is a man of education, but not much 
judgment. 

Q. His temper rises pretty high sometimes ? 

A. Very. 

Q. Mr. Conroy mentions an instance when he left your office — 
.cursing all in the office ? 

A. He was frequently excited about the subject, and I would then 
draw him out to the length of his tether. 

Q. And you were writing articles, firing away at the allies, and 
loading your guns with the ammunition he furnished you ? 

Mr. Van Dyke. May it please the court — having, as I think, 
proved a clear prima facie case against one of the defendants, (Hertz,) 
and submitted all the testimony I have to offer against the other, 
(Perkins) — I deem it unnecessary to extend the examination of the 
witnesses relative to Mr. Hertz ; I therefore close for the present the 
case of the government. 

[The court then took a recess for half an hour.] 

The district attorney having closed his case, the counsel for the de- 
fence said they had no testimony to offer. 

Mr. Gruillou, for Mr. Perkins, asked the court to instruct the jury 
to return a verdict of not guilty as to Emanuel C. Perkins, there 
being no evidence to hold him. 

Mr. Van Dyke. Is it the intention to make a witness of the de- 
fendant ? 

Mr. Guillou. No. 

Mr. Van Dyke. This application is entirely within the discretion 
of the court, and I presume might be granted, if the ends of substan- 
tial justice were to be served by so doing ; but, as Mr. Perkins is not 
to be put upon the stand, nothing is gained to either of the defend- 
ants by separate verdicts. I am free to admit that, under the former 
ruling of the court, I have not made out such a clear case against the 
defendant Perkins as I should have liked, but I prefer the going 
jointly to the jury as they now stand. The result, no doubt, will be 
the same to Mr. G-uillou's client. 

Mr. Guillou. Under the remarks of the district attorney, I with- 
draw my application. 

Mr. Van Dyke, in summing up for the United States, said : He did 
not deem it necessary further to examine the witnesses who could be 
produced ; that he was satisfied the testimony which had already been 
submitted was conclusive in favor of the government on all the ques- 
tions which had been submitted to the jury. He had but very few 
suggestions to make at the present time, and such he should address 



432 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

to the jury more through the medium of the court than directly to 
themselves, because it was his helief that under the charge which the 
court would give of the law hearing upon the case the jury would 
have no difficulty in finding the defendant Hertz guilty, in the man- 
ner and form as charged in each and every of the hills of indictment 
laid before them. 

The act of Congress, may it please the court, provides, (I recite it 
from memory, and the court will correct me if I am wrong :) First. 
That if any person shall, within the territory or jurisdiction of the 
United States, enter himself in the service of any foreign prince, &c. 
This is one distinct and separate misdemeanor created by the act. 

Second. If any person shall hire or retain any other person to en- 
list or enter himself in the service of any foreign prince, &c. This 
is another, and the second distinct misdemeanor created by this act. 

Third. If any person shall hire or retain any other person to go 
beyond the limits or jurisdiction of the United States with the intent 
to enlist or enter himself in the service of any foreign prince, state, 
colony, district, or people, as a soldier — not as a soldier on board any 
vessel or letter of marque, as *has been contended, but as a soldier 
according to the general common acceptance of the term — or as a 
mariner on board any vessel or letter of marque^ &c. 

Now, these three are distinct and separate offences. The first is 
that of a person enlisting or entering into the service of any foreign 
prince, state, colony, district, &c. In relation to this he said the de- 
fendant is not in any manner charged in the indictment, and, there- 
fore, it is unnecessary to embarrass the court and jury in taking into 
consideration any facts which relate to an intent on the part of the 
defendant to enter and enlist himself. Neither has the defendant, 
nor any other person, been charged with having absolutely enlisted 
within the territory or jurisdiction of the United States ; nor is the 
defendant, or any one else, charged with having gone beyond the 
limits or jurisdiction of the United States with the intent to enlist. 

What, then, is the charge ? What the only issue upon which I 
ash this court to charge the jury, that the government has made a 
clear case ? It is : first, that the defendant hired and retained some 
persons to enlist within the limits or jurisdiction of the United States. 
This crime is charged in two ways in the first two counts in the in- 
dictment ; and, secondly, that the defendant has within the jurisdic- 
tion of the United States hired and retained certain persons to go be- 
yond the limits and jurisdiction of the United States with the intent 
to enlist when they arrived beyond such limits and jurisdiction. This 
crime is charged in various forms in the four remaining counts of the 
indictment. 

It is no offence under the statute, in Muhn or Budd, or any one 
else, to be hired ; so that those recruits who have voluntarily come 
upon the stand and confessed their participation in this lawless trans- 
action have confessed no crime. If A hires B to go beyond the 
limits of the United States with the intent mentioned in the act, B 
having agreed with A within the limits of the United States to depart 
with the intent to enlist, the crime or offence is not committed by B, 
because he merely engaged with A to go, but the offence is committed 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 433 

alone by A, who hired him ; for, so far as the going beyond the limits 
of the United States with the intent to enlist is mentioned in the act, 
the offence consists in hiring or engaging the person to go, and not 
in being hired or engaged to go. And the court is asked so to charge 
the jury. Then, as to the intent, what is meant thereby, and who 
must have such intent ? On this point the court is asked to charge 
the jury, that the intent mentioned in the act is the motive in the 
mind of the person hired, and has no reference to the design of the 
person hiring, except that the person hiring believed, or had reason 
to suppose, the person hired really intended to enlist when he should 
arrive beyond the limits of the United States, and that he hired him 
for such purpose. That if the jury, from all the testimony, are satis- 
tied that Hertz, at the time he engaged Muhn, Budd, Weaver, or any 
other person mentioned in any of these bills of indictment, to go be- 
yond the limits of the United States, and furnished him the facilities 
to depart, had the intention to enlist in the British military service, 
then that point of the act which speaks of the intent is sufficiently 
established. 

Believing that the learned court will give the jury in charge the law 
as he has stated it, Mr. V. called the attention of the jury to the prin- 
cipal features of the evidence in the case. He contended that he had 
established every point made in his opening remarks. 

First. He had shown, by incontrovertible testimony, that the neces- 
sities of the British government, resulting from the disastrous condi- 
tion of their army in the Crimea, and the unpopularity of the cause 
of the allies at home, compelled them to hazard the enlistment of sol- 
diers within the limits of foreign neutral nations. 

Second. That, in the accomplishment of this design, the English 
authorities at home and their representatives on this continent had, 
in gross violation of the laws of the United States, concocted and par- 
tially matured a plan for procuring within our territorial limits suffi- 
cient men to supply the forlorn hopes of an unpopular war, and regain 
the lost prestige of a waning administration. 

In support of these points, Mr. V. adverted to, and commented 
upon, the testimony of Captain Max F. 0. Strobel, Colonel Burgthal, 
Colonel Bumberg, Dr. Keuss, Mr. Bucknell, and Mr. Budd. The 
truth of their representations had not been questioned, and the Jury 
are bound, under their oaths, to regard their evidence as conclusive. 

Third. That Henry Hertz, the defendant, was an agent of the 
English government in the accomplishment of this general plan and 
design. That he had been employed for that purpose by Mr. Cramp - 
ton, her Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary, the highest British 
functionary known in this country, as also by Sir Joseph Howe, the 
general agent specially sent to America for this purpose, and by Sir 
Gaspard le Marchant, the governor of a neighboring British province. 

Fourth. That, in pursuance of such employment, this plan was 
regularly carried out by the defendant. That he did, in the city of 
Philadelphia, engage at least two hundred men to go 'beyond the limits 
of the United States, with the intent to become a part and parcel of 
the British foreign legion. That in order the more effectually to ac- 
complish this design, he opened, under the auspices of his English 
28 a 



434 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

employers, a recruiting office, and advertized in the public papers, 
and posted, through the streets placard's hearing the queen's arms, 
inviting men to his office. That the persons calling in answer to- 
such proclamations were sent by the defendant to Halifax, who, when 
there, were attested, and mustered into the military service of the 
British government. 

Fifth. That Mr. Hertz, at the time he was thus engaged in hiring 
and sending men beyond the limits of the United States, well knew 
that it was the intention of the persons thus hired and sent to enlist 
in the service of her Majesty the queen of Great Britain. 

Mr. V. argued that the affirmative of each of these propositions was 
fully sustained by the testimony produced by the government, and 
called the attention of the jury to that portion of the evidence which 
severally related to them. He said the character of the witnesses was 
unimpeached, and that their testimony had been abundantly corrobo- 
rated by the written evidence which he had been enabled to produce ; 
that there could be no difficulty in finding a verdict of guilty as to the 
defendant Hertz. That if the jury believed both defendants guilty, 
they should so find. If, on the contrary, they did not think a case 
had been made out against Perkins, they should acquit him, and find 
a verdict of guilty against Hertz ; they could separate their verdict. 

As to Mr. Perkins, Mr. V. said that he did not intend to press for a 
conviction where the evidence does not in the clearest manner justify 
him in so doing ; that however much he might himself be convinced 
of a defendant's guilt, it was his duty to prove him so, and that be- 
yond reasonable doubt. From the intimation of the learned court 
when this case was before it on writ of habeas corpus, he presumed his 
honor would require the government, under the present form of indict- 
ment for a statutory offence, to prove an actual hiring or retaining of 
some one of the individuals mentioned in the bills. Should such be 
held to be the law under this statute, he was compelled in candor to 
say to the jury that he had himself, under the testimony, a doubt as 
to Perkins having been proved guilty. He regretted such was the 
case ; but having brought all the evidence he could to bear against 
him, he left him in the hands of the jury, without any expression of 
his private opinion as to that defendant's guilt. 

Mr. V. closed his remarks by a severe commentary upon the base- 
ness and perfidy of the persons engaged as the chief actors in this 
flagrant attempt to violate and evade the laws and treaty obligations 
of the United States, and expressed the hope that the result of this 
case would vindicate the action of the government in their determina- 
tion to maintain our national integrity with every nation of the globe, 
whether it is or is not in accordance with sinister purposes of Great 
Britain. By forcing this indictment thus against this defendant the 
President of the United States has struck as near the throne of her 
Majesty as he is enabled to do in the shape of a criminal prosecution. 
The extended privileges and peculiar protection given to a foreign 
minister prevents:, so far as he is concerned, the application of the 
criminal code of the country, although such foreign minister may be 
proved guilty of acts which, if committed by a private individual, would 
make him a felon. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 435' 

Were it not so, I think I am justified in saying I would this day, 
by the direction of the President, be trying Mr. Crampton, Sir Joseph 
Howe, and Sir G-aspard le Marchant, instead of their humble instru- 
ment, whose conviction is now asked at your hands. The jmy, how- 
ever, will leave these gentlemen to the only power legally authorized 
to take care of our public safety, by demanding reparation from their 
government ; and you, gentlemen, may rest assured that in due time 
they will be called upon by our able and faithful officers at Washing- 
ton to make proper atonement for the gross insult which they have 
offered to our laws and our people. 

If,, on the contrary, after I have in this trial, instituted by the di- 
rection and with the cordial approbation of the national administra- 
tion, proved the defendant so clearly guilty as the instrument and 
agent of Mr. Crampton and his confederates, you should, on account 
of any sympathy which maybe thrown into -the jury-box, acquit him,. 
your verdict will be the strongest argument which will hereafter be 
used to protect her Majesty's agents in their impudent intermeddling 
with the affairs of this continent. Confident, however, that you are 
men devoted to the institutions and political policy of your own 
country, and, as such, are ever ready fearlessly to defend them, I 
leave in your hands the honor of the government, and the rights of 
all those who seek shelter beneath its broad protecting segis. Weaken 
not that power of protection by your verdict — stain not that honor by 
one moment's hesitation in your approval of the determination on the 
part of the government to preserve every feature of our constitutional 
vigor, as well from the jealous designs of foreign powers, as from the 
fanatical treason of domestic foes. 

Mr. Van Dyke having concluded, he was followed by Mr. Stephen 
S. Remak, who made a powerful appeal to the jury in behalf of the 
defendant Hertz. He spoke for two hours and a half, giving a full 
history of the case, reviewing the testimony which had been submitted,, 
and dwelling with great power and eloquence upon the law bearing 
on the subject. It would have afforded us great pleasure to be able ta 
present his speech in full, as taken by our reporter, but want of space 
forbids. 

Mr. Cuyler. May it please the court, gentlemen of the jury : You 
are weary, gentlemen, and long to be released. I shall detain you but 
a few minutes- by the remarks it is my duty to make to you in this 
case. 

The facts of the case have been elaborately analysed and discussed 
by my colleague, and I deem it unnecessary to pursue the path in 
which he has preceded me — in reviewing and digesting the testimony 
you have listened to so patiently in this case. The duty which has 
fallen to my share, may it please your honor, is chiefly that of invi- 
ting your attention to the view entertained by the defence of the true 
construction of the act of Congress under which this indictment is 
framed — trusting, if you shall agree with us in that construction, that 
the jury will not find in the evidence in this case that a violation of 
the wholesome provisions of this act of Congress has taken place. 

You cannot have failed to notice, gentlemen of the jury, in the pro- 
gress of this case, that the names of those high in authority and offi- 



436 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

cial rank have appeared, and often appeared, to be mingled in the 
transactions from which these indictments have sprung. Mr. Barclay, 
the consul at New York, Mr. Mathew, the consul at Philadelphia, 
Mr. Crampton, the British minister at Washington, have all of them 
appeared as prominent and earnest actors in the scenes which have 
been detailed in the evidence before you. Among the humblest of all 
who have been named, is this poor and unfortunate man — a stranger 
in a strange land, forlorn, friendless, and deserted, for whose convic- 
tion the zeal and learning of the district attorney, and the power of 
the government, have been so earnestly and sternly pressed upon you. 
And here, pausing for an instant, let me pay my tribute of respect to 
the learned district attorney,, for the candor and liberality with which 
he has conducted the case, and for the more than usual fulness, per- 
fection, and ability with which he has prepared and managed this 
prosecution. The power of the government, so ably exerted and di- 
rected by him in this prosecution, is in strange contrast with the pre- 
paration this poor and friendless man has been able to make for his 
defence. 

I cannot suppose, gentlemen of the jury — I will not suppose — you 
will not, I trust, suppose for an instant, that these high functionaries 
of a foreign but friendly state, dwelling within our borders, have 
consciously either evaded or violated the provisions of any of the laws 
of the land. You will not believe that these gentlemen of standing, 
character, and intelligence, have deliberately planned an infraction of 
the laws of the country, and then left this humble instrument of their 
designs unfriended to bear the severe penalty of a law broken under 
their advice and in execution of their requests. 

You will the rather, gentlemen, believe with me, that, conscious of 
their own integrity, and with the law in full view before them, and 
with experience and capacity to construe the law aright, they so or- 
dered their own course, and so directed their subordinate agencies, 
that no violation of the law should anywhere take place. This, gen- 
tlemen, I trust, you are now about to find. In a word, I shall submit 
to you that no offence is proven within the construction of the act 
which I shall ask the learned judge to give you. 

May it please your honor, the offence with which this man is charged 
is unknown to the common law. The right of any man to expatriate 
himself cannot under our law be questioned, except so far as the stat- 
ute may have forbidden it to be done under certain particular circum- 
stances, or with a certain intent which the statute forbids and pun- 
ishes. Such a statute is the subject of strict construction. If the 
facts are not within its fair spirit and construction, the offence is not 
made out, and it is your duty to acquit. Now what is the offence 
created by the statute, in derogation of that which otherwise would 
not be unlawful or in any way punishable? The second section of the 
act of Congress of April 20, 1818, under which the indictment is 
pressed, provides that if any person shall, within the territory or ju- 
risdictioa of the United States, enlist, or enter himself, or hire or re- 
tain another person to enlist, or enter himself, or to g© beyond the 
limits or jurisdiction of the United States with intent to be enlisted 
or entered in the service of any foreign prince, State, colony, district, 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 437 

or people, as a soldier, &g., " every person so offending shall be 
deemed guilty of a higli misdemeanor," &c. 

The offence does not consist, of course, in a person hiring or enlist- 
ing, and there is nothing of that kind in the case ; but it consists 
either in hiring or retaining other persons to enlist, or hiring or re- 
taining other persons to go beyond the limits of the United States 
with intent to enlist. The offence, then, is "the hiring or retaining." 
Now that means something more than mere persuasion. It does not 
mean that the mere exercise of an influence which operates upon the 
reason of a person and induces him to go, creates the offence. It 
must be a " hiring or retaining," or, in other words, it must be the 
creation of a legal obligation, or of that which, irrespective of the 
provisions of this act of Congress, would amount to a contract or legal 
obligation, and be capable of enforcement as other legal contracts are. 

I submit, then, to your honor, this, as the true construction of this 
act, and I ask you so to instruct the jury. 

Now, gentlemen, upon the whole testimony in the case, has the 
evidence raised in your minds a conviction., free from all doubt, that 
there existed between Mr. Hertz and any of the several parties named 
in these indictments a valid, legal, binding contract "of hiring or 
retaining" them to enlist, or to go beyond the limits of the United 
States with intent to enlist ? If it has not, it is your duty to acquit. 
Can you upon your oaths, on this testimony, say to me there has been 
such a conviction established in your minds ? 

Turn with me for a moment to the testimony. I shall not weary 
you with its details ; but tell me, witness after witness was examined 
before you, and did they not almost with a unanimous voice tell you 
that they were not enlisted in the service of any foreign prince or 
state, nor placed under any obligation to enlist, but simply were to 
be transported to Halifax, and they were in the exercise of a ^perfectly 
free and independent judgment, either to enlist in the service of the 
queen, or to decline to do so, as they might in their mere discretion 
see fit to do ? It is true there have been several witnesses upon the 
stand whose testimony might receive a different construction ; but re- 
member, gentlemen, the disadvantages under which these witnesses 
labored. They were foreigners — Germans — who spoke our language 
imperfectly, incapable of expressing as you or I would do those nicer 
shades of meaning which are needful to convey a true and precise 
impression of the facts. You will not say to me that such testimony, 
and so little of it, will bear down in your minds the full strong cur- 
rent of other testimony, some of it written, and precisely embodying 
the exact plan and intention, much of it oral, but clear and exact, 
and perfectly consistent with that which was written, and all show- 
ing, beyond question, that no man was "hired or retained" in this 
country for any purpose whatever, but that they were simply per- 
suaded to go to Halifax, and when there were in the perfectly free 
exercise of their judgments, in their mere discretion, to determine 
either to enlist or to refuse to enlist, as they might then choose. 

I can feel no doubt, gentlemen of the jury, that you will find this 
to be the weight of the testimony. If you do, I ask you to acquit. 
If you do, you will find that there did not exist between Hertz and 



438 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

these parties a contract such as, irrespective of this act of Congress, 
would be valid, legal, and capable of being enforced ; and so rinding, 
as there was no "hiring or retaining' ' within the meaning of the 
act, you will acquit. 

Gentlemen of the jury : I represent a very humble man — a poor, 
desolate stranger. If the law has been violated — which, in view of the 
construction I have just given you, it plainly has not — there are others 
upon whom, with more justice, its penalties should be visited. Let 
us shield this man, whose highest offence, if offence he has committed, 
is ignorance of the law ; and let those wiser men of higher rank bear 
the penalty. This question should be settled elsewhere, not here. If 
our laws have been outraged, the government of Great Britain has 
done it. Let that matter be settled at Washington, and not in an 
account between the government and this obscure and humble man. 
But, gentlemen, I will not detain you any longer. You will not, I 
am sure, find in the facts of the case that the law has been broken 
anywhere, or by any man. You will not find that mere persuasion 
is the creation of a legal contract, or that a man who is left free to 
the unpledged exercise of his own mere discretion has been "hired 
or retained/' within the meaning of this act. And so thinking and 
so finding, you will' rejoice to restore this unfortunate man to his 
friends and his home, and to the wife and the children who wait for 
and long to welcome him there. 

Mr. Gillou said : May it please the court gentlemen of the jury : If 
you will bear with me at this late hour of the day for five minutes, I 
will close my duties within that time. It is the boast of us all that 
we live in a land of laws. It is our safety that the law is adminis- 
tered by two tribunals — the one explaining the law, and the other 
applying it to the facts in evidence. The indictments upon which 
you are to pass — some twelve or thirteen in all — charge the defendant 
Perkins, together with Hertz, with having enlisted specified indi- 
viduals, A, B, C. The crime with which he stands indicted, is the 
enlistment of persons to serve in a foreign country. I have turned 
my attention carefully to the testimony in this case, because, when 
counsel makes an assertion to a jury on a point of fact, it is his duty 
to ascertain that he is right in his statement ; and I say, after exam- 
ining this testimony, that there is not any portion of it which shows 
any connexion of Perkins with Grilroy, Budd, Casey, or any other 
person whose name is in any one of these bills as a party sent away 
or enlisted. If I am right in this statement of the testimony, there 
is an end of this indictment ; for the law requires that the party 
charged be shown by the evidence to have acted in relation to the 
particular crime which is averred in the particular bill, and in rela- 
tion to the particular party, the subject of the crime. You will, 
therefore, when you take up a bill, remember this, and ask your- 
selves whether Perkins had anything to do with the hiring or enlist- 
ing of the man whose name is mentioned in it-. If there is no evidence 
to show that he had, you will return a verdict of not guilty, as to 
Perkins; and as you take up each bill, so examine and declare upon 
it. As to the other defendant, I have not a word to say ; my friends 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 439 

on the other side have fully gone into the case, and given yon the law 
and the facts hearing upon it. 

There is this principle which rests at the basis of law, that the 
crime must he proved to have been perpetrated. Therefore, so far as 
the defendant Perkins is concerned, consider him not connected in 
this case with the other defendant, hut on trial alone ; and then ask 
yourselves the question, Did Mr. Perkins do anything at all to enlist 
or get off Grilroy, or any other person? You will find that the bur- 
den of the testimony bears directly against such a conclusion, and 
shows that he had nothing to do with it. I think, therefore, that 
you will be able to arrive at your verdict readily, and without diffi- 
culty. It would be a task of the most painful character if his honor, 
after hearing the evidence in this case, were to proceed to pass sen- 
tence on this defendant, however indiscreet in speech he may have 
been, as you can but entertain a great doubt of his guilt. The law 
says, that if you have a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the person 
charged — such a doubt as would arise in any reasonable mind — such 
doubt is the safeguard of the defendant, aud entitles him to an ac- 
quittal. I hope you will have no difficulty in this case, but that at 
least you entertain a doubt which favors the defendant, and will re- 
lieve his honor from passing sentence. I ask you to find a verdict of 
not guilty as to the defendant Perkins. 

Mr. Van Dyke, in reply, said he would follow, with pleasure, the 
example of his learned friends on the opposite side, and briefly 
bring this protracted trial to a close. He desired to confine himself 
strictly to a reply to the positions taken by the counsel for the de- 
fendants. 

The act of the 20th of April is one of easy and simple construction. 
The learned gentleman (Mr. Eemak) who first addressed the court in 
behalf of the defendants, is wrong in supposing that there have been 
no judicial decisions which shed light upon the act of Congress. In 
1832, John D. Quincy was indicted, under the third section of this 
act, for fitting out and arming a vessel, with the intent that such ves- 
sel shall be employed in the service of a foreign prince. The case 
went up to the Supreme Court of the United States, and is to be 
found in 6 Peters' Reports. It will be observed, upon examination of 
that case, the law in reference to our neutrality is somewhat different 
from the general criminal law of the country. The argument there 
made by Mr. Williams for the United States was, that these acts of 
Congress should be construed acording to the meaning and intention 
of Congress, and, in support of this argument, he cited that part of 
Judge Marshall's opinion on the penal laws of the United States, as 
reported in the case of the United States vs. Wilfberger, 5 Wheaton, 
95, "that, although penal laws are to be construed strictly, they are 
not to be so construed as to defeat the obvious intention of the legis- 
luture. " This argument was answered in an able manner by Mr. 
Wirt; but, Justice Thompson delivering the opinion of the court, 
said, "it was sufficient to establish, by this testimony, the committal 
of the crime, according to the plain meaning of the words used in 
defining the offence." 

The whole policy of our neutrality laws requires a liberal construe- 



440 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

tion of the statute, if, indeed, it is to be effective in preserving our 
neutrality between foreign belligerents. 

It is also contended by another counsel of Mr. Hertz, (Mr. Cuyler,) 
that there must have been an absolute contract and consideration 
paid. This position is not the law, as I understend it. The retain- 
ing, whether by coaxing or otherwise, was sufficient. The engaging, 
which is the meaning of the word retaining, whether by means of 
present pay or the promise of future compensation, is sufficient. 

But here there was an absolute contract. This is a question of 
fact for the jury ; and if they so find, any difficulty on the question 
raised by the eloquent counsel is avoided. The conditions of the 
contract were verbal, and its execution was consummated by the signa- 
tures of the parties to the roll-book, each one signing that book,, 
clearly understanding what he was to do, and what he would receive 
for it. That contract stands, for all legal purposes, in the same posi- 
tion as though it had been entirely in writing ; and were it not from 
its very nature and general character void ab initio, could be en- 
forced in any court of common law, and the bounty or pay mentioned 
for the services could be recovered from any private contracting par- 
ties. Debts and damages are daily recovered upon agreements much 
more carelessly made. The terms of the contract were, on the one- 
side, that Peter Muhn and William Budd, and a score of others en- 
gaged, should go to Halifax for the purpose of enlisting, and, on the 
other hand, certain remuneration was to be paid them by the de- 
fendant's principal, for the performance of their part of the agree- 
ment. 

The pay was to be received, it is true, after they arrived at Halifax;, 
part of that pay was the privilege of being received into the Queen's 
service. They were, also, to receive a free ticket and passage to their 
destination. This contract was considered so binding, that one of 
the witnesses tells us that force would be used at the barracks to 
compel the enlistment when there, and even the poor privilege of 
repentance was not allowed to the indiscreet and hasty. They were, 
also, to receive a monthly pay. Now, if this is not an absolute 
hiring of a party to enlist, then nothing is, and the act of Congress is 
a dead letter, and should be repealed. 

Mr. Cuyler. What was it a contract to do ? 

Mr. Van Dyke. A contract, sir, to go beyond the limits of the 
United States with the intent to enlist in the British service. And, 
if any doubt existed on the question of intent, such doubt is removed 
by the indisputable fact that the men actually did enlist, and are, in 
all probability, at this moment in the Crimea. 

It is admitted that the parties who make this contract must be in- 
dicted in the district where the contract is made — in the place where 
the parties are engaged. In a case which has recently been tried be- 
fore the United States district court for the Massachusetts district, 
the case of United States vs. Lewis Kazinski, reported in 8 Monthly 
Law Reporter, p. 254, the prosecution failed, substantially, because 
the hiring took place in New York, and the trial was had in Boston : 
the court ruling that the expression of intent made in New York 
could not be given in evidence, and confined the prosecution to ex- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 441 

pressions of intent made in the district where the crime was charged 
to have heen committed ; and the recruits on board the vessel upon 
which they were arrested having expressed a different intent from 
that expressed at the time of hiring in New York, the cause failed, 
among other reasons, for the want of the proof of the intent re- 
quired by the act. Exempli gratia : to make the case more intelli- 
gible, suppose the party which left Philadelphia on the 25th of March, 
in the charge of Captain Strobel, had after their arrival within the 
limits of the southern district of New York, expressed their intent to 
be to go to Halifax to work on the railroad ; and Mr. Strobel, who 
had in fact, assisted to engage the men in Philadelphia, had been 
arrested, and, under the second section of the act of 1818, indicted in 
the southern district where he happened to be found in charge with 
the recruits, and the able prosecuting officer for that district should 
offer to prove the expressions used by the recruits in Philadelphia as 
to their intent when arriving in Halifax ; the court would hold him 
to the proof of expressions of intent made in the southern district of 
New York, where the offence of hiring and engaging is charged to 
have been committed ; and particularly so when the fact is brought 
to the knowledge of the court, that the evidence as to the intent ex- 
pressed in the two places differ most materially and substantially. 
Now, this was the case of the United States vs. Kazinski, and for this 
want of sufficient proof of the intent, in the district where the trial 
took place, the defendants were acquitted. 

But this case is important for other reasons. It settles two of the 
fundamental questions which must arise in every prosecution under 
the second section of this act of Congress. 

First. The meaning of the term hiring or retaining, which is to be 
construed in its every day acceptation, and is virtually nothing more 
than " engaging " — the word used by the learned judge. 

Secondly. That the hiring must be within the district where the 
crime is charged to have been committed ; and I have shown that such 
hiring, so far as it could be consummated anywhere, was actually 
done here. 

A single word in reply to the remark of Mr. Cuyler, as to the 
propriety of prosecuting this defendant, while persons of more im- 
portance are permitted to pass unpunished. I agree with my learned 
friend that it is rather unfair, in one sense, that Mr. Hertz, the mere 
humble instrument of a great nation, should suffer for the acts of his 
superiors. But Mr. Hertz was a free agent, and acted voluntarily in 
the whole affair. He sought for and obtained the position under Mr. 
Crampton and Mr. Howe, which enabled him to violate our law ; and 
he has no right to complain if he suffers the penalty of his own wilful 
misconduct; and it is the duty of the jury, if they believe him guilty, 
so to find him. You will also recollect, gentlemen, that the prosecu- 
tion of this defendant was the only means by which the Executive of 
the United States could be best informed of the impropriety of the 
conduct of those representatives of the British government who have 
been accredited as fit and honorable men, claiming peculiar privileges 
near our government. I have no doubt that this trial has furnished 
such information, and that such steps will be adopted as are sane- 



442 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

tioned by international law. But with that you have nothing to do 
here. Your only duty is to impartially inquire into the conduct of 
Mr. Hertz and Mr. Perkins, and to render a fair verdict under the 
evidence. With that verdict, whatever it may he I shall have no 
complaint to make. 

Mr. Van Dyke having concluded, Hon. John K. Kane charged the 
jury as follows : 

I intended, gentlemen of the jury, when we separated, to avail my- 
self of the leisure afforded me to put my charge in writing ; hut I have 
been prevented by controlling circumstances from doing so, and my 
remarks to you, therefore, will be less closely connected, perhaps, 
though I trust they will not be on that account less intelligible and 
clear. 

The case has involved, in its progress, a train of facts of very con- 
siderable political interest — perhaps of more general interest in that 
aspect of it, than in its bearing on the questions which are to be 
decided by your verdict. There are very few among us, probably 
none, who have not felt aggrieved at the tone with which the press of 
foreign countries, and occasionally of foreign statesmen of the day, 
have commented upon what they have been pleased to call over-alacrity 
of the American people to engage in military controversies in which 
they properly had no rightful part. Our people and our government 
have been accused of forgetting the obligations of neutrality, and 
pushing ourselves forward into the conflicts of foreign nations, instead 
of minding our own business as neutrals, and leaving belligerents to 
fight out their own quarrels. For one, I confess that I felt surprised, 
as this case advanced, to learn that during the very time that these 
accusations were fulminated against the American people by the press 
of England there was, on the part of eminent British functionaries 
here, a series of arrangements in progress, carefully digested, and com- 
bining all sorts of people, under almost all sorts of influences, to evade 
the laws of the United States by which our country sought to enforce 
its neutrality ; arrangements matured, upon a careful inspection of 
the different sections of our statutes, ingeniously to violate their spirit 
and principle without incurring their penalty, and thus enlist and 
send away soldiers from our neutral shores to fight the battles of 
those who were incontinently and not over-courteously admonishing 
us to fulfill the duties of neutrality. 

I allude to these circumstances, and this train of thought, gentle- 
men, not because it is one that should influence your action as jurors, 
but because I feel it my duty to guard you against its influence. The 
question which yon have to decide is, not whether there has been an 
effort on the part of any foreign functionary to evade the provisions 
of our acts of Congress, but whether these two defendants have or 
have not violated the provisions of the act of Congress, which are cited 
in these bills of indictment ; your verdict will respond to the simple 
question, are these two men guilty of the crime with which they are 
•charged ? 

In order that my remarks may not hereafter be embarrassed by the 
necessity of using the plural when the singular is more appropriate, I 
will say to you, at the outset, that there is no evidence against one of 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 443 

these defendants. Before a jury can properly convict an individual of 
a crime, they must he satisfied, by clear evidence, that the crime has 
heen committed by some one. We have no statute which affects to 
punish braggart garrulity ; and, unless the particular offence of enlist- 
ing certain definite persons has been committed by Perkins, one of the 
defendants, though he may have proclaimed upon the house-tops that 
he has recruited armies innumerable, no jury can properly convict 
him of the offence he professes to have engaged in. 

I pass to the consideration of the case of the defendant Hertz. He 
stands indicted, sometimes jointly with another, sometimes alone, with 
the offence of having hired and retained certain persons to go out of 
the United States for the purpose of enlisting and entering themselves 
as soldiers in the service of a foreign prince, state, or territory. 

The act of Congress is in these words — I read the words material 
to the question, leaving out those which apply to a different state of 
circumstances : 

"If any person shall, within the territory of the United States, 
hire or retain any person to go beyond the limits of the United States, 
with intent to be enlisted in the service of a foreign prince, he shall 
be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor." 

The question which you have to pass upon is, Did Henry Hertz 
hire or retain any of the persons named in these bills of indictment 
to go beyond the limits of the United States, with the intent to be 
enlisted or entered in the service of a foreign state? 

Did he hire or retain a person? Whatever he did was within the 
territory of the United States. 

The hiring or retaining does not necessarily include the payment of 
money on the part of him who hires or retains another. He may 
hire or retain a person, with an agreement that he shall pay w^ages 
when the services shall have been performed. The hiring or retaining 
a servant is not generally by the payment of money in the first in- 
stance, but by the promise to pay money when the services shall 
have been performed ; and so a person may be hired or retained to go 
beyond the limits of the United States, with a certain intent, though 
he is only to receive his pay after he has gone beyond the limits of 
the United States with that intent. 

Moreover, it is not necessary that the consideration of the hiring 
shall be money. To give to a person a railroad ticket that cost four 
dollars, and board arid lodge him for a week, is as good a considera- 
tion for the contract of hiring, as to pay him the money with which 
he could buy the railroad ticket and pay for his board himself. If 
there be an engagement on the one side to do the particular thing, to 
go beyond the limits of the United States with the intent to enlist, 
and on the other side an engagement, that when the act shall have 
been done, a consideration shall be paid to the party performing the 
services or doing the work, the hiring and retaining are complete. 

The meaning of the law, then, is this: that if any person shall 
engage, hire, retain, or employ another person to go outside of the 
United States to do that which he could not do if he remained in the 
United States, viz: to take part in a foreign quarrel; if he hires 
another to go, knowing that it is his intent to enlist when he arrives 



444 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

out; if he engages him to go because he has such an intent, then the 
offence is complete within the section. Every resident of the United 
States has a right to go to Halifax, and there to enlist in any army 
that he pleases ; but it is not lawful for a person to engage another 
here to go to Halifax for that purpose. It is the hiring of the person 
to go beyond the United States, that person having the intention to 
enlist when he arrives out, and that intention known to the party 
hiring him, and that intention being a portion of the consideration, 
because of which he hires him, that defines the offence. 

I believe that after making this comment upon the law, I might 
pass on to the facts ; but it occurs to me to add, that you are not to 
require proof of the connexion of the defendant with each particular 
fact and- circumstance which has been given in evidence to show the 
working out of the general plan. 

If you believe the witnesses, the object here was to effectuate an en- 
listment beyond the borders of the United States, and yet escape from 
the provisions of this section ; to do effectively, and yet not seem to do. 
If you are satisfied — no matter what was the avowed object of the 
party, no matter what the pretext, if you are satisfied that Henry 
Hertz was here engaged in hiring and retaining men to go off to 
Nova Scotia, there to enlist, that being their intention, and he be- 
lieving that it was so., and therefore hiring them ; then, no matter 
what was the costume or mask which the transaction wore, he has 
committed the offence charged in the bill of indictment. 

As to the evidence, gentlemen, you have listened to it very care- 
fully, and it has been commented upon abundantly. I do not know 
that it is my duty to detain you by a single remark on it. It is all 
on one side. Whether it establishes the fact is for you to judge. The 
enlistment necessarily includes the action of different parties ; the con- 
cert between them is to be inferred from their acts. The intention of 
the party engaged or retained to enlist, is to be gathered from his 
conduct and declaration here, from his conduct after he reaches the 
foreign country, and from the action of third persons with whom he 
perfects the enlistment that he may have contracted for here. You 
are, therefore, while looking primarily at the conduct of Hertz, to look 
also at the actions of others tending to the same objects ; and if you 
judge that they were actually in concert with him, then all their 
acts, done in pursuance of the common purpose and plan, are to be 
regarded as his. With these remarfe I leave the case in your hands. 

At the conclusion of the judge's charge, the jury retired, and re- 
turned in about fifteen minutes. On taking their seats, the clerk of 
the court, in the uusal form, put the question: " Gentlemen of the 
jury, have you concluded upon your verdict?" To which the fore- 
man replied, "We have." 

Clerk. How say you, guilty or not guilty ? 

Foreman. Guilty as to Henry Hertz, in manner and form as he 
stands indicted on all the bills of indictment ; as respects Emanuel C. 
Perkins, not guilty. 

The jury were then discharged. Sentence deferred for the present. 

And now, September 29th, 1855, Theodore Cuyler, esq., and 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 445 

Stephen Remak, esq., for Mr. Hertz, move for a rule for a new trial, 
•and, by leave of court, file the following reasons : 

United States ) In the district court of the United States, sur in- 

-n- "tt I dictment for unlawful enlisting, &c. 

Henry Hertz. ) & ' 

1. That the learned judge erred in admitting in evidence proof of 
the acts and declarations of other persons, done and said in the absence 
of defendant. 

2. The learned judge erred in his construction of the language and 
meaning of the act of Congress of 1818, under which these indictments 
are framed. That he held, and so instructed the jury, that the words 
"hire or retain," employed in said act, would be satisfied by less 
than an absolute contract, founded upon sufficient consideration, and 
capable of legal enforcement if the same were not made unlawful by 
the provisions of said act. 

3. The weight of the evidence was clearly and decidedly that no 
person was " hired or retained to enlist, or to leave the United States," 
with intent to enlist ; but the several persons sent to Halifax were en- 
gaged to go, and were sent there, with the distinct understanding that 
they were there to determine whether they would or would not enlist, 
and were, until then, entirely free and at liberty, bound by no contract 
or engagement, and therefore having no intent, &c, within the 
meaning of the act of Congress. 

4. The verdict was against the evidence ; and 



5. The verdict was against the law. 



THEODORE CUYLER, 
STEPHEN S. REMAK. 



And now, October 12, 1855, the motion for a rule for new trial 
coming on before honorable John K. Kane, is argued by Theodore 
Cuyler, esq., and Stephen S. Remak, esq., for the motion; and the 
same being denied, and new trial refused — 

Mr. Van Dyke said : The motion of the defendant for a new trial 
being refused, I ask leave to present to this court the confession which 
has been made to me by the defendant, Henry Hertz. 

This prosecution has not been merely local in its tendencies, nor 
the influence of its results likely to be confined to the sphere of an 
ordinary prosecution in this district. Its results are of a far more 
extended importance. 

The disclosures made in the progress of this cause may be the 
ground-work of an important step on the part of the federal govern- 
ment in relation to those who have been instrumental in producing 
that system of interference with our affairs, which has formed the 
basis of this prosecution. I am permitted to say that the trial which 
has just resulted in the conviction of this defendant was authorized 
by the national Executive ; and before making the motion which I 
intend to submit to your honor, I beg leave to read the instructions 
which I have received in relation to this trial. 

Being aware that the system of enlistments had been effectually 
broken up by the prompt execution of the warrants which I had caused 



446 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

to be issued for the arrest of various parties, and by the efficient aid 
which Mr. Wynkoop, the marshal of this district, and his officers, had 
otherwise furnished me in ferreting out the system adopted for the 
evasion of our laws, I had supposed there might not be any urgent 
necessity in pressing the prosecution of the defendants who have just 
been tried, and had written to the Attorney General of the United 
States, asking whether it was the desire of the administration further 
to press these prosecutions. To which I received the answers dated 
September 12, 1855, and also the letter dated September 17, 1855 ; 
both of which I shall take the liberty of reading to the court. 
Mr. Van Dyke read the letters as follows : 

" Attorney General's Office, September 12, 1855. 

u Sir : In reply to your letter of the 10th instant, on the subject of 
the indictments pending against persons charged with recruiting for 
the military service of Great Britain, I have the honor to make the 
following observations : 

" Mr. McKeon has been advised of the desirableness of conferring 
with you personally, either by himself or his assistant, in regard to 
new evidence to which he may have access, and which can be useful 
to* you. 

" I suggest the expediency of trying only a part of the cases now, 
especially if you fail to convict in some leading case. 

" But the most important consideration is this : 

" This government has, of course, addressed to that of Great Britain 
such demands of public redress and satisfaction in the premises as the 
national honor requires. But the government of Great Britain, with 
extraordinary inattention to the grave aspects of its acts — namely, the 
flagrant violation of our sovereign rights involved in them — has sup- 
jjosed it a sufficient justification of what it has done, to reply that it 
gave instructions to its agents so to proceed as not to infringe our 
municipal laws ; and it quotes the remarks of Judge Kane in support 
of the idea that it has succeeded in this purpose. It may be so. 
Judge Kane is an upright and intelligent judge, and will pronounce 
the law as it is, without fear or favor. But if the British government 
has, by ingenious contrivances, succeeded in sheltering its agents from 
conviction as malefactors, it has, in so doing, doubled the magnitude 
of the national wrong inflicted on the United States. 

el This government has done its duty of internal administration in 
prosecuting the individuals engaged in these acts. If they are acquit- 
ted, by reason of a deliberate undertaking of the British government, 
not only to violate, as a nation, our sovereign rights as a nation, but 
also to evade our municipal laws, and that undertaking shall be con- 
summated by its agents in the United States ; when all this shall 
have been judicially ascertained, the President will then have before 
him the elements of decision, as to what international action it becomes 
the United States to adopt in so important a matter. 
"I am, very respectfully, 

"C. CUSHING. 

" Jas. C. Van Dyke, Esq., 

" United States Attorney, Philadelphia." 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 447 

" Attorney General's Office, 

September Vj, 1855. 

' * Sir : I desire to make a further suggestion in regard to the trial 
of parties charged with recruiting soldiers in the United States for the 
service of the British government. 

" It is known that instructions on this subject were given by that 
government to its officers in the United States. We are told by Lord 
Clarendon that those officers had ' stringent instructions' so to pro- 
ceed as not to violate the municipal law — that is, to violate its spirit, 
but not its letter. If so, the instructions themselves violate the sove- 
reign rights of the United States. 

' ' But, in the meantime, every consul of G-reat Britain in the United 
States is, by the avowal of his government, subject to the just sus- 
picion of breach of law ; while, apparently, he must either have dis- 
obeyed his own government, or, in obeying it, have abused his con- 
sular functions by the violation of his international duty to the United 
States. 

" In these circumstances, it is deemed highly necessary that the 
British consul at Philadelphia, or any other officer of the British 
government, shall not be suffered to interfere in the trials, as he 
attempted to do on a previous occasion ; that no letter of his be read, 
except in the due form of evidence ; and that, if he have anything to 
say, he shall be put on the stand by the defence, in order that he may 
be fully cross-examined by the prosecution. 

" It is clear that he has no right, by any rule of public law or of 
international comity, to be heard in the case by the court, otherwise 
than as a witness, whether enforced or volunteer. 
" I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

"C. CUSHING. 

" Jas. C. Van Dyke, Esq., 

" United States Attorney, Philadelphia." 

Your honor will perceive that the object in this prosecution has 
been as much to break up the general system which had been adopted 
by the British government to violate our municipal laws, as it was 
to punish those who should be found guilty as the instruments of that 
government. 

If the present defendant, since his conviction, has contributed in 
any manner to aid the government in this investigation, and that aid 
has been the result of a sincere regret and repentance for his past con- 
duct, it is, in my opinion, but just that he should have the benefit of 
his present conduct in the sentence which your honor may see fit to 
pronounce in his case. 

I therefore move that the defendant's confession be read, and that it 
be filed of record among the proceedings in the cause, to be duly con- 
sidered by the court in the judgment which may hereafter be pro- 
nounced against the defendant. 

Per curiam. Let the paper be Bead and filed of record. 



448 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

The confession is as follows : 

r In the district court of the United States, in and for 

-o- fr k the eastern district of Pennsylvania. 

Henry Hertz. ) J 

United States, eastern district of Pennsylvania, ss. 

Be it remembered, that on this 11th day of October, A. D. 1855, 
before me, Charles F. Heazlitt, a commissioner of the United States, 
personally came Henry Hertz, who, being duly sworn, says : 

That some time in the month of January, 1855, 1 read in the London 
Times a notice of the passage of a resolution of the British Parliament;, 
authorizing the enlistment of a foreign legion. A day or two after- 
wards I went to the United States Hotel, where I heard three or four 
gentlemen speaking of this country as a place where enlistments could 
best be made. One gentleman by the name of Miller pointed at me, 
as the man best fit for enlisting men for the British service, because, 
as he said, I am so well known among the German and foreign popu- 
lation. One of the gentlemen sitting there arose and said to me, " I 
am an English officer ; I am not particularly engaged in this matter 
now, but I can tell you how to embark in it without running any risk, 
and I would be glad if you would engage in it ; but, in order to ac- 
complish this, it is necessary for you to go to Washington and see Mr. 
Crampton, the English ambassador." 

From what I learned afterwards, the name of the gentleman was 
Mr. Bruce McDonald. Two or three weeks afterwards I went to 
Washington, and was introduced by many gentlemen by letters to 
Mr. Crampton. I had obtained these letters without telling those 
gentlemen the object of my visit ; but, before delivering any of these 
letters of introduction, I addressed a note to Mr. Crampton, requesting 
an interview with him ; that note did not state the object of the inter- 
view. The principal object of my visit to Mr. Crampton was to ascer- 
tain whether I could safely embark in this enterprise. I was stopping 
at Willard's Hotel, and in reply to my note, I received the note here- 
to annexed, marked A. (C. F. H.) (This note has been published 
in Mr. Strobel's testimony, and will be found, ante, at page 145.) 
After the receipt of this note I called on Mr. Crampton, at his resi- 
dence ; it was on Sunday morning when I called ; I saw Mr. Cramp- 
ton ; he said, in substance: u Your letters of introduction assure me 
that I may have full confidence in you ; I have not sufficient authority 
yet from the home government with regard to the matter, but I ex- 
pect early authority from Lord Clarendon. I have already received 
a letter from Lord Clarendon, inquiring how many men might be en- 
listed in this country for British service, and what the United States 
government would think of such an attempt. I can tell you this ; 
that if you embark in this matter, you can make a great deal of money ; 
if procuring of men for the English service should be undertaken, it 
will be very advantageous to you ; but I expect a letter from Lord 
Clarendon by the next steamer, which may be expected in eight or 
ten days, giving me full explanations and instructions how the matter 
is to be conducted." In this conversation he had reference to enlist- 
ments in this country for the Crimean war. He stated that he had 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 449 

-answered Lord Clarendon's first letter, and that the letter he expected 
was in reply to his answer. He did not state the contents of his an- 
swer to Lord Clarendon's letter. He then said, "I have nothing 
more to tell you to-day, but when I receive Lord Clarendon's letter I 
will write to you." I returned to Philadelphia, and should have 
thought nothing more of the subject, but about the 5th of February, 
1855, I received a letter from Mr. Crampton, through the post office, 
which letter is hereto annexed, marked B. (C. F. H.) (The letter 
referred to is published ante, second letter on page 145.) I sent him a 
telegraphic dispatch, that I was too much engaged to come to Wash- 
ington now, but that I would call upon him at Washington as soon 
as my time would permit it. 

I went some days afterwards (say three or four days) to Washing- 
ton, and saw Mr. Crampton at his private residence ; he was indis- 
posed. I told him I had received his letter, and desired to know what 
I had to do. Mr. Crampton replied, et I have received a letter from 
Lord Clarendon, which contains the statement that the British gov- 
ernment has made arrangements to establish depots at some places in 
Canada, on the frontier of the United States, in order to receive the 
men who may be procured in the United States. In pursuance of this 
information, I have sent my special messenger to the governor gen- 
eral of Canada, and to the commanding general of the troops in Canada, 
(whose name I believe is Boy,) requesting them to designate the 
places where depots may be established for the reception of persons 
who may be procured in the United States." I informed Mr. Cramp- 
ton that I had incurred expenses already by coming twice to Wash- 
ington, and that I would have to waste more time until the messenger 
returned, and that I would have to neglect my business ; I therefore 
requested him to refund to me the expenses already incurred by me. 
Mr. Crampton replied, ci I have at present no money at my disposal, 
and have no authority to give you any; but I am certain you will be 
paid not only for your services, but that your expenses will be repaid 
to you." I asked Mr. Crampton what was to be done? How is the 
matter to be conducted ? He said, u As far as I know, there is a law 
in the United States forbidding the enlisting of soldiers within the 
territory of the United States ; it is, however, not difficult to evade 
this law, because who can prevent you from sending laborers to Canada? 
But we must take care to do this in such a way that it shall not appear 
in defiance of the government. My idea is, further, that if you have 
25 or 30 men together, either yourself or some other confidential per- 
son should take them direct by railroad to Montreal, where, I think, 
a depot may be erected." I then asked him, "When do you think this 
matter will commence?" Mr. Crampton said, "I cannot say pre- 
cisely yet, because my messenger will perhaps be prevented from re- 
turning to Washington very soon, as the roads are obstructed by ice 
and snow. It is possible that he will call on you at Philadelphia on 
his return from Canada, and will give you the necessary information. 
In the mean time, you may call on our consul, Mr. Mathew, in Phila- 
delphia, and he (Mr. M.) will probably be able to give you the neces- 
sary instruction." The conversation with regard to the procuring 
men was finished, but I reverted again to the law bearing upon the 
29 a 



450 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

subject. I asked him, "How am I backed in case a charge is made 
against me? I have a wife and children." 

Mr. Crampton replied, "First, that the law was exceedingly lax ; 
and, secondly, that if anything should happen, the British govern- 
ment would not allow any one to suffer who had been engaged in 
assisting them in furnishing the men." I replied that " The popular 
voice is against this matter;" but Mr. Crampton said, " Never mind 
about this popular voice ; if a house in Liverpool fails, the whole 
United States trembles." After Mr. Crampton had given me such 
assurances, and had used the expression, " I give you my word as a 
gentleman that nothing unpleasant shall happen to you," I then 
made up my mind to act for the British government. Before I left 
Mr. Crampton assured me that he would send a man to my house in 
Philadelphia, who would make such arrangements with me as would 
enable me to procure men, and send them to their destination. I 
then returned to Philadelphia, and waited ten clays without hearing 
anything of the matter. I called then on Mr. Mathew, the British 
consul in this city. Mr. Mathew received me very politely, and in- 
formed me that he was just reading a letter from Mr. Crampton, in 
which my name is mentioned. He further said, " We (speaking of 
his government) are very anxious to procure men ; but, alas ! we have 
not received any instructions from Canada as to where the depots are 
to be erected ; however, we expect every day and every hour the re- 
turn of the messenger." About three, four, or five days after that I 
visited Mr. Mathew again ; he then said to me, " I would advise you 
to go down to Washington again, for," said he, " although I do not 
know of any of the particulars of the case, yet I have no doubt Mr. 
Crampton does, and can give you all the information necessary." 
This was about the 15th of February. I went to Washington again,, 
and saw Mr. Crampton, though he was indisposed. All that I could 
learn from him was, that in a week or two he would send a man to my 
house in Philadelphia ; this man, he said, he expected would be sent 
from the government in Canada to my house, with instructions and 
means for the recruiting of men in this country. In this conversation 
Mr. Crampton also stated to me that if I should get into any difficulty 
I should emplo} r eminent consul. He also said that, so far as he 
could ascertain, the government of the United States would not inter- 
fere in the matter. I must distinctly aver that, in particular, this last 
statement and representation on the part of Mr. Crampton gave me 
such full assurance that I did not, for one moment, think it possible 
that I could be charged with a misdemeanor or crime. I thought 
that the matter had been privately arranged between the United 
States and the English government ; Mr. Crampton endeavored to, 
and did, leave that impression on my mind. I was led so to believe 
from what Mr. Crampton said to me. I returned to Philadelphia, 
and in about a week afterwards, on returning home from my office 
one day, my wife handed me a slip of paper, on which was written 
"Joseph Howe, Jones' Hotel, parlor No. 1." She stated that the 
gentleman whose name was on the paper called and spent with her 
two hours waiting for me. After dinner, on the same day, I called 
on Mr. Howe at his hotel, and saw him ; he asked my name, which I 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 451 

gave him. He said he was extremely glad to see me, as his time for 
staying in Philadelphia was very limited ; that he had to go to New 
York and Boston, where his agents expected to see him in a few days. 
I asked him what authority he had for engaging me to enlist men for 
the foreign legion? He answered, " I am authorized by the governor, 
Sir Gaspard le Mar chant, of Nova Scotia, who, in accordance with in- 
structions from the English government, is the only man who had 
control of the enlisting service for the foreign legion, and the especial 
control over the depot in Halifax, established for the men procured in 
the United States. I told him, " This is all very well, but I have not 
the pleasure of knowing the governor. ' ' He answered me, ' ' Mr. Cramp- 
ton has given me your directions, and recommended you as a man in 
whom I can place full confidence." I answered him "that I would 
believe anything ; but I should like to see some documents from Mr. 
Crampton." He said, " I am sorry that I cannot show you such at 
present, as the only document I have received from Mr. Crampton was 
an introduction to Mr. Mathew, and that letter I have already de- 
livered." I said, "I would be satisfied if Mr. Mathew would cor- 
roborate his statement, and then I would be willing to act on his 
proposition." He asked me to see him again the next morning at 9 
o'clock. I called at 9 o'clock the next day, and met there Captain 
Eumberg, Lieutenant Van Essen, and another gentleman by the name 
of Link, a friend of Mr. Van Essen. Mr. Howe introduced me to 
those gentlemen, whom I knew before, but had never any conversation 
with them about the recruiting business. He (Mr. Howe) said 
"Gentlemen, I suppose you know Mr. Hertz: he is the only confi- 
dential agent for the State of Pennsylvania to get men for the foreign 
legion." I said to him, " I have not got so far yet, and stand upon 
my demand of yesterday;" referring to his statements being corrobora- 
ted. He said, " That is all right; that gentleman" (meaning Mr. 
Mathew) "knows you already." 

^This interview was on the 13th March. He said, "lam glad to 
l ar that Mr. Mathew has made all inquiry about your character, 
and feels fully satisfied." Mr. Howe then said to Mr. Eumberg 
that he would get a colonelship, and Van Essen a captaincy, and told 
me by all means to send off those men (Mr. Eumberg and Mr. Van 
Essen) with the first transport, in that capacity. I answered, 
that if I was satisfied I would do so. He bowed to these gentle- 
men, and begged to be excused, as he wished particularly to speak 
with me alone. They went away. Mr. Howe then said, "I have 
heard from Mr. Crampton that you are a man of limited means ; 
and as means are necessary, he could furnish me with any amount." 
I told him I wanted £250 to £300 to start with. He answered, "That 
is only a trifle. You need not be economical, as money was no object 
at all. I cannot give you more than $300 at present, as I have drafts 
on different places, which I will put in the hands of one man, and 
this man would get authority from me to furnish you with the means 
you want." "That it would be necessary to get men as quick as 
possible, and for this purpose I think it would be best to insert some 
advertisements in the German papers, and in the English papers that 
are most read by the Irish population, who are her Britannic Majesty's 



452 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

subjects." I asked him what he meant to insert or advertise — if he 
thought it proper that I should call for volunteers. He said " that will 
not do, hut I will write you an advertisement which you may insert 
immediately, without running any risk." He wrote this paper (here- 
to annexed, marked C. C. F. H. This paper is the original procla- 
mation, published ante on page 144,) in my presence, and delivered it 
into my hands. He also wrote a contract for me to sign,' in which I 
acknowledged myself to he a referee for the governor of Nova Scotia, 
and was willing to send men. I was to receive $8 for each man sent 
to Halifax, and extra for each man that was competent to he an officer, 
£4 extra ; and for sergeants I was to receive $4 extra. I did not 
know at the time that this contract was illegal, and have never 
received anything for any services I rendered Mr. Howe. Mr. Howe 
stated in this conversation, in the presence of Bumberg, Van Essen, 
and Link, that Mr. Crampton had given him the direction of each 
of us, (referring to Kumberg, Van Essen, and myself,) as the only 
persons with whom he was to confer in this city, and that Bumberg 
and Van Essen had been highly recommended to Mr. Crampton by 
some French ambassador. 

He then went to his writing desk, took $300 out, and was handing 
them to me. I told him, " I do not take any money from you." I 
had so told him once before, as I actually wanted the money through 
the hands of Mr. Mathew. I was at this time still doubtful whether 
I should embark in this enterprise, as all I have been stating now 
was mere conversation ; and I had not done anything at all that could 
make me liable in any shape or form. I desired to test the question 
whether I should act or not, thinking that Mr. Mathew would not 
play any part in this affair if it would be against the law of the coun- 
try, and I therefore asked that the first step be taken by him. 

Mr. Howe then said, "if you would prefer that Mr. Mathew should 
give you the money, it shall be done so." I answered, that his 
doing so was a great object to me, as he (Mr. Howe) was only a tran- 
sient visitor, and could leave the States any time he was disposed ; but 
Mr. Mathew, as a British functionary in this city, would feel himself 
bound to cover me if anything should happen, or any charge should 
be made. He said, " I^am very glad to hear that you are so cautious, 
and I will meet your wishes ; please call to-morrow morning here at 
"9 o'clock, and if I have not left the city, I will take you to the room 
of Mr. Mathew in the same hotel, and he will give you the money ; 
but if I have left, go to Mr. Mathew in his office, and get the money 
there, if he has not before sent it to your house. I asked him why he 
staid at Jones' Hotel ; he said, as the British consul stopped there, 
he did so. We shook hands, and I went away. In the course of this 
conversation, Mr. Howe remarked, "there is no necessity to be afraid 
of anything ; the laws of the land here are but poorly enforced, and 
£100 might purchase all the laws of the land." 

On the morning of the 14th of March I went to Jones' Hotel ; Mr. 
Howe had left, but Mr. Hicks, the book-keeper of Jones' Hotel, handed 
me an envelope without an enclosure ; on the fly or fold of the envelope 
were written these words: "Gro to Mr. Mathew; it is all right." I 
went to Mr. Mathew' s office and saw him there; he told me "he 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 453 

had just sent his clerk up to my residence, 424 North Twelfth street, 
with $300, which Mr. Howe had requested him to give me ; and if I 
would stay there^ or come back again in a quarter of an hour, his 
clerk would be back, as he wished to have me give a receipt for the 
money." I remained and conversed about the best plan to begin the 
matter. Mr. Mathew observed that he would be glad to assist me 
in anything, but it must be a secret, as his official standing would not 
permit him openly to have anything to do in the matter. The clerk 
returned, when the conversation ceased at a signal given to me by 
Mr. Mathew. The clerk handed the packet to Mr. Mathew, and 
Mr. M. counted to me $300, and I took the slip of paper marked D. 
C. F. H., in which the money had been enclosed to me. The follow- 
ing is a copy of this paper, in the handwriting of Mr. Mathew : 

" Mr. Howe requests the $300 sent may be given to Mr. Hertz, on 
his receipt in Mr. Howe's name." 

He handed me a slip of paper, and asked me to give him a re- 
ceipt. He said, "be careful to put Mr. Howe's name in it." I 
wrote the receipt in these words : 

"Keceived, Philadelphia, 14th March, 1855, of Mr. B. Mathew, 
three hundred dollars on account of Hon. Mr. Howe." 

Mr. Mathew stated further, that "if you want anything for ves- 
sels, or means of conveyance, you must go to Mr. Henry Winsor, on 
the wharf near Pine street, and he will furnish you with anything in 
his line ; that he (Mr. Winsor) had moneys in his hands, or under 
his control, belonging to Mr. Howe." 

I took an office on the 14th of March, and went to the Pennsylvanian 
and Ledger, and inserted the advertisement written by Mr. Howe. 
The Ledger notice was an abstract ; the Pennsylvanian inserted it at 
length. Mr. Eumberg attended to the advertisements in the Demo- 
cratic Free Press. On the 16th of March the business commenced ; 
plenty of men came, and the first day I had so many that I could 
make a transport. I went down to Mr. Winsor and told him I wanted 
a conveyance for about 100 to 140 people to Halifax. He said, "There 
is no possibility to get it from here direct to Halifax, but means are 
procured to send them from here with his steamers to Boston, and 
there the regular packets would take them to Halifax ; but, at all 
events, it would not be possible to send such a number before Satur- 
day, the 24th, as the steamer would not go before. I was placed in 
an unpleasant position, as those men were very poor, and were anxious 
to start. I was, therefore, necessitated to give them a little money to 
live. I believe it was the 16th or 17th, in the afternoon, about nine 
or ten persons, calling themselves English subjects, came to my office. 
They told me they had just come from the British consul, who had 
sent them to my office to get tickets, which were left there the same 
day in the morning by T. L. Bucknell. I told them I would give 
them tickets if they would bring me a written receipt from Mr. Ma- 
thew, as I had my instructions to use those tickets with discretion. 
They went away ; in about half an hour after, a message was sent 
from Mr. Winsor wishing to see me. I went down; he presented me 
a letter, addressed to him from Mr. Mathew, in which he desired 
that Mr. Winsor should get tickets from me, and furnish the people. 



454 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

who had called upon me as English subjects with free passage by the 
schooner Bonita, of Halifax, Captain Coffin, then lying at Pine- 
street wharf, and pay the captain $12 for each ticket returned by the 
captain to Mr. Winsor. I gave Mr. Winsor eight tickets, and he 
gave me the receipt hereto annexed, marked B. C. F. H. (This receipt 
will be found ante, page 184 ;) and I saw the captain give to Mr. 
W. a receipt for $96, as the captain had returned the eight tickets he 
had received from Mr. W. to him, and bound himself to deliver up 
those men in Halifax ; and further, to return to Mr. Winsor $12 for 
each man he should not deliver up in Halifax. The captain took the 
eight men in his schooner, and sailed with them that evening. The 
same day I wrote a letter to Mr. Howe asking for funds. Mr. Howe's 
direction was given me by Mr. Mathew, The following morning I 
got a telegraphic despatch, directing me to call on Mr. Winsor and 
get funds. I went to Mr. Winsor, and told him I wished $500. He 
told me that he had an order to pay me $100 only ; that Mr. Howe 
would be here, perhaps, that day or the day after, and he would furnish 
me with more. At the same time, Mr. W. told me that the steamer 
Granite State did not belong to him any more, that he had sold her 
to another firm, and he did not think that the firm would pay a charter 
for taking passengers ; that he did not know, therefore, how he would 
act to-morrow, as he could not procure any other vessel. I tele- 
graphed directly to Mr. Bucknell, asking him what I should do to get 
conveyance for my "brave people." I did not get any answer. The 
reason why I telegraphed to Mr. Bucknell was, that he was the only 
man to assist the agents in sending away men. Bucknell told me he 
was the only man that was authorized by Mr. Howe to assist the 
agents in sending the men to Halifax, as Mr. Howe himself was very 
much occupied, and travelling from one place to another. To get the 
people away, I went down to Sandford's line, and made an agreement 
with Mr. Eldridge to pay him $4 for each man he would take in his 
steamer to New York, if he could delay the departure of the steamer 
till Sunday. I wanted to have time to send the men by the steamer 
Sandford. As Mr. Eldridge did not know me, Mr. Winsor went in 
and told him that everything that I did he would be responsible for. 
On the 25th, in the morning, the people were ready to start at five or 
six o'clock ; but as I had no money to furnish Mr. Strobel, who had 
command of the party, I went up to Mr. Mathew at Jones' Hotel, 
in his room, at five o'clock, and told him the people were there by the 
wharf, but Captain Strobel was not willing to start without money, 
and the poor people wanted to have money in their pockets. He got 
out of his bed and got $50 and handed it to me, saying, " if that is 
not enough, I will give you more." I went down to the wharf and 
gave $25 to Mr. Strobel, and divided the balance among the men who 
were going — eighty or ninety people. These people were those I had 
engaged at my office to go. They went off to New York. I went 
the same night, the 25th, to New York, and went to Delmonico's Hotel, 
where I found Mr. Bucknell sleeping in Mr. Howe's room. I told 
Mr. B. that the people either were there, or would come, as they left 
this morning, and asked how they were to be conveyed to Bos- 
ton. I also told him that Mr. Strobel would be there and receive his 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 455 

further orders. Mr. Bucknell said that he would make it all right ; 
that I should go to Mr. Barclay, at his private residence, College Place, 
and he (Bucknell) would soon be there to make further arrangements. 
I went away and returned to Delmonico's in about an hour. I met 
there Mr. Strobel, who had arrived; he told me that he wanted money 
to feed the people ; that he was obliged to take them in four different 
parties, to four different boarding houses in Greenwich street. Mr. 
Bucknell came down, and we went up to his private room, when he 
told me that he would go with us himself to Mr. Barclay, at his office 
in Barclay street, and that I sho'uld go with him. I went with him, 
and he and Mr. Barclay went into an inner room. . Mr. Bucknell then 
came out and told me to wait in his private room at Delmonico's, that 
he would come directly and bring the money. He came and gave me 
$100, which I delivered in his presence to Mr. Strobel, less $5. I gave 
him $80 at that time, and had given him $15 before, that morning. 
We went together to the Astor House, where Mr. Bucknell tele- 
graphed to Mr. Mathew to tell Mr. Cumberland (which means Mr. 
Howe) not to leave Philadelphia without seeing Mr. Hertz. Mr. 
Howe, at the time we were in New York, had gone to Washington, 
and was expected to return in a day or two. I left New York and 
returned to Philadelphia the same night. Mr. Barclay was the British 
consul at New York. 

On my arrival from New York, I went directly from the depot to 
Jones' Hotel, where I saw Mr. Howe. This was on. the 26th of 
March. Mr. Howe told me he had returned the same morning from 
Washington, and as he had received a message from Mr. Bucknell, 
through Mr. Mathew, he had waited here for the purpose of seeing 
me, as he was very anxious to see me. He had in the meantime, be- 
fore my arrival, sent up for Mrs. Hertz to come down and see him, as 
he was indisposed ; but she declined to do so. He told me he had 
come from Washington, after having a very important interview with 
Mr. Crampton, and that Mr. Crampton told him that, as far as he 
could observe, the government of the United States had begun to feel 
a little uneasy about this matter ; in the meantime that I should go 
on and care for nothing, as I could be quite sure I would get imme- 
diate information in case the United States government should deter- 
mine to prosecute the matter. I told him that I was not afraid, as I 
had the words of such men as Mr. Crampton and Mr. Mathew that 
nothing should happen to me. He told me that it was ten o'clock, 
and he expected to see Mr. Mathew, as he (Mr. Howe) would leave in 
the midnight train for New York. I told him that I was surprised 
that he had not sent me any money, as he said I should not be econom- 
ical with it. He promised to write a note to Mr. Winsor, and all 
should be made right the next day, but the next day Mr. Winsor told 
me he had no orders ; Mr. Howe had not seen him. Mr. Howe told 
me to word my dispatches calling the men barrels or parcels. Mr. 
Howe also said, in this last connexion, that I could make a large 
amount of money ; that all I had to do was to blow a trumpet in the 
streets, and that I could get thousands for the foreign legion ; that 
Mr. De Korponay was highly recommended as a man of great con- 
nexion in the West and Texas, and that I should endeavor to see him, 



456 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

and furnish him with the necessary means to start, and that as soon 
as I had sent him (Howe) word that I had engaged Korponay, he 
would send me money. 

The next morning I received a telegraphic dispatch from Mr. Buck- 
nell, asking how many parcels I would send, and that I should hurry 
them along ; that there was another company wanting to join the 
next expedition, so that they should go to Boston together. I an- 
swered him immediately that I supposed 50 to 60 barrels would go off 
by the Sanford to-day. Some 4*7 went off by the Sanford that day. 
When I came to my office a half an hour afterwards, I was arrested. 
On Wednesday, the 28th of March, I was arrested, and on the 29th 
I went to Mr. Mathew's office and found Mr. Mathew in a deep con- 
versation with De Korponay. He left Mr. De Korponay and invited 
me into the next room, and there said to me, "Do not be down- 
hearted, we will do everything for you in our power ;" he meant by 
"we" Crampton, Howe, and himself. He also said that I should try 
to give Mr. Howe information of what had happened, and that I 
should go down to Mr. Winsor and get $200 ; I went to Mr. Winsor; 
he told me he had made all right with Mr. Mathew ; I went back to 
Mr. Mathew's and he (Mr. Mathew) handed the paper marked F. C. 
F. H., which is now in two parts. This paper Mr. Mathew wrote in 
my presence. The paper is in the following words : 

"Please call at Jones' for $200 left with Mr. Sharwood, the pro- 
prietor, by Mr. Howe, at 2 o'clock." 

I went up to Mr. Sharwood, the proprietor of Jones' Hotel, and I 
received $200 from Mr. Hicks, the book-keeper, to whom I showed this 
paper. The same day I went down to Moyamensing to see Mr. Budd, 
who had sent me a message that he had no money. I gave him $5. 
I told him I could not procure bail for him, as the people did not want 
to go bail for a native who is engaged in a business of this character. 
My wife accompanied me, on this occasion, to the prison. I returned 
home with her, and there found a letter addressed to me ; afterwards 
I went out to take a walk with my wife, and walked down Chestnut 
street, and met the porter of Jones' Hotel — John Allen I think his 
name is ; he asked me if I had received the letter he had left at my 
house that day, as the British consul had given strict orders that the 
letter should be delivered as soon as possible. The letter is hereto 
annexed, marked Gr. C. F. H., and is the letter I found at my house, on 
the occasion referred to by the porter. I have seen Mr. Mathew's hand- 
writing. I know his style of writing, and believe this letter marked 
G to be in his handwriting. The following is a copy of the letter: 

1 ' If the sole name in the warrant and indictment is that of G-len- 
roy., the marshal is indictable for false arrest of the other parties. 

"The counsel, if such a man as J. Tyler, O'JSTeall, or Lex, will 
paint this mean arrest in its true colors ; he will prove that the parties- 
interested were solely acting for themselves, with no powerful friend 
behind them to pay fines, from the sole desire to aid in a war which 
Europe holds to be the war of liberty ; the one a G-erman, the other a 
Britisher. 

"If they have erred, their error is but light. Do these pretending 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 457 

republican authorities seek to wreak vengeance on them for loving 
freedom with England better than Kussia? 

"The counsel's speech should be carefully published, and will weigh 
before a third hearing, which should be obtained. 

"If, in truth, the British consul had no part in it, the attempt to 
involve him should be exposed. 

"It may be easily shown Grilroy is not to be believed on oath. Is 
he a paid spy and traitor to entrap under false names ! ! 

"Honorable marshal! Honorable district United States attorney t 

"Honorable men, 'Captain Power,' and 'Lieut. Somers' ! ! ! 

"What is Grilroy's real name? 

"Where really born? not where he says. 

' ' What his character ? 

"What his reward? 

"Is the German desiring liberty, or the Britisher desiring to aid 
his country in a war, to he held as a criminal ! ! ! 

"What has Bussia paid the dominant power for this rigor?" 

Some of the men who shipped on the morning of the arrest were not 
taken by the marshal, and went on to New York. 

The hook marked H is the book in which the names were entered 
in my office, together with the three sheets of paper marked H, 1, 2, 
3. The names in the back of the book were the applicants for com- 
missions. 

The tickets produced in court are the tickets I gave to the men. 
Howe told me that the N. S. B. C. meant Nova Scotia Becruiting Com- 
pany, hut I might translate it Nova Scotia Bailroad Company. _ I had 
them printed myself. Mr. Howe told me to print them in this way. 
The white ticket with N. S. R. and J. H. on it, are tickets which I 
obtained from Mr. Howe myself; the J. H. are in his own hand- 
writing. I used only eight of these, which were the eight I gave to 
Mr. Winsor. Those I used had Mr. Howe's seal on in wax. 

On Saturday, before Strobel left, I told Mr. Mathew at that time, 
that the different gentlemen who expected to get a commission were 
anxious to know what pay they were to receive. He told me he could 
not exactly tell me, but that I should call on Dr. Williams, and give 
him his (Mr. Mathew' s) compliments, and he would give me Hart's 
Army List, which would give me the necessary information. I got 
the hook from the Doctor, but could find nothing about the matter. 
I told Mr. Mathew of the result, and he said I should correspond with 
Mr. Howe about it, or, if he should see him first, he would mention 
it to him. The same night, on my return from New York, Mr. Howe 
told me he had got all the particulars from Mr. Crampton, so far as 
he knew it, and handed me the paper marked J. C. F. H. 

The paper referred to contains a memorandum as follows : 
"Ensign, 5-4 sterling. 
"Lieutenant, 6-8 sterling. 
"Captain, 11 and 2 sterling." 

This paper states the pay of an ensign, 5s. 4d. per day; lieutenant, 
6s. 8d.; a captain lis., and 2s. for rations. Mr. Howe said_ those 
prices referred to the per-diem pay. I believe this paper to be in Mr. 
Crampton' s handwriting. 



458 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

The handbill marked K. C. F. H. (this is the handbill with the 
Queen's arms on it, already printed, ante page 114) is the bill brought 
me by Mr. Bucknell, together with the white tickets with Howe's seal 
on them. These bills are the same as those posted in my office. All 
these bills were destroyed in the presence of Mr. Bucknell the next 
day, together with the tickets he brought me, except the eight I gave 
to Mr. Winsor. He brought me nine hundred odd tickets with Mr. 
Howe's seal on. 

When Mr. Bucknell was arrested, Mr. Mathew sent me word by a 
friend that he would be much obliged to me if I would not call on or 
correspond with him any more in this case, as he had apprehensions 
that he was closely watched by the United States officers. The same 
friend of Mr. Mathew told me it would be best for me to go direct to 
Halifax. Mr. Bucknell told me the same thing. Before I went to 
Halifax, I wrote a note to Mr. Mathew. He answered me that he 
could not do, nor would he do, anything for me in this case, which he 
had before directly stated to me, and that I had used some improper 
remarks against him. I answered him, that I was surprised to hear 
such remarks from him, as I had only said that the functionaries of 
the British government were perfidious, and I still think so. 

I left for Halifax, and had in my possession a letter to Mr. Howe, 
stating what he ought to do in my behalf. At New York, I went to 
the office of Mr. Barclay, and saw Mr. Stanley, the vice-consul ; he 
spoke with me about Mr. Howe, and told me that he was sorry that 
such heedless men as Mr. Howe had brought me and other honest 
people into a scrape without assisting us ; he also told me that Buck- 
nell was going to Halifax, and that he (Mr. Bucknell) was in the 
same position as myself. Mr. Stanley told me that Mr. Mathew had 
paid Mr. Bucknell's expenses, including lawyers' fees, all the expenses 
he had incurred, and expressed surprise that the same had not been 
done for me. Mr. Stanley paid my expenses from Halifax. I met 
at Mr. Stanley's office Mr. Jesson, who went from this place with 
Strobel to Halifax. He told me in Stanley's presence, that he, Stro- 
bel, and some other officers from Halifax, had been sent to the United 
States, and were now in the United States, and were under the special 
control of Mr. Crampton, and any money or funds that they required 
would be given them by different British officials, and the money 
which he (Jesson) required for enlisting purposes, he had to obtain 
from Mr. Crampton himself, and that he would go that same night to 
Mr. Crampton for that purpose. This was in the first part of June, 
about the fan, long after my arrest. Mr. Jesson said he was at that 
time going on the enlisting business, under the direction of Mr. 
Crampton, and I saw him send fifteen men on that occasion to Boston, 
via steamboat, to go from thence to Halifax. Mr. Jesson told me he 
was then on his way to Washington to obtain money from Mr. Cramp- 
ton for that purpose ; that the whole enlisting business was now en- 
tirely under the special supervision of Mr. Crampton, who had taken 
the matter entirely in his own hands. This conversation was in the 
office of Mr. Stanley, who paid Mr. Jesson some money in my presence 
to pay for fifteen tickets for the men who were to go off that day. 

I went with Mr. Jesson to the steamboat, and saw him pay the 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 459 

clerk of the boat for the passage of these men. I saw the men arrive 
the next day in Boston. They were taken charge of by another Eng- 
lish officer named Thune. He boarded them at different boarding- 
houses, and told me they were to go to Halifax. I took the Cunard 
steamer for Halifax, where I arrived on the 9th. I met Mr. Carsten- 
sen at Halifax ; we took a cab and drove out to Melville island. I 
saw in the barracks most of the people I sent from here ; they were 
equipped, and were being drilled. The officer received me with great 
kindness, and Mr. Van Essen went with me to the city. At supper 
Mr. Van Essen was called out, and did not return. I met Mr. Howe ; 
on landing from the steamer he greeted me very kindly, but said lie 
had no time to see me, and stepped on board the steamer for England — 
that was the same steamer I arrived in. The next morning, the 10th, 
I went again to Melville island to see Mr. Van Essen, who had prom- 
ised to introduce me to Sir Graspard le Marchant. I was received by 
a man calling himself Major Weis, who told me there were strict 
orders not to allow me to come to the island again. I asked him to 
show me the order, for, unless I saw it^ I would not leave the island if 
he were twenty times major. He had no written order, and I went 
on to the island. He sent immediately to the governor for instruc- 
tions ; in the meantime, he ordered the people and officers not to 
speak with me. In about a half hour the order arrived, and he pre- 
sented it to me. I told him it was the order of the governor of the 
province ; that I would like to see the order of the military governor, 
for without it I would not leave. He sent again to the fort, and the 
commanding English colonel of the forces came himself, and told me 
that no strangers were permitted to come on to the island. I left, in 
company with the colonel, in his caleche. 

The barracks at Melville island, where the soldiers are kept, are a 
parcel of wooden sheds, scarcely equal to those in which a good Penn- 
sylvania farmer keeps his cattle. I then went up to Sir Graspard le 
Marchant, introduced myself, and told him what I wished. In the 
beginning he did not desire to have any connexion with me at all ; 
but after I had presented to him, in strong language, the manner in 
which I had been treated in Philadelphia, as well as in Halifax, he 
replied it was not his fault, but Mr. Howe's. He also said that Mr. 
Howe had used $120,000 in the recruiting business, and inasmuch as 
he had rendered no account of it yet, he could not tell how my account 
stood ; that in the meantime I should give him a written statement of 
what I wished^ and he would answer me the next day. I gave him 
the statement, and the next day I received the letter marked L, 
(0. F. H.) (This letter is already published, and will be found ante 
page 146, dated June 11, 1855.) I left Halifax the next morning. 
At the time he delivered the letter, which was handed to me by 
Mr. Wilkins, in the presence of Sir Graspard, he told me that " when 
you return to New York, go to Mr. Stanley, and that he, Mr. Stanley, 
will then be able to settle with you." When I arrived at Windsor, I 
wrote a letter to the governor, Sir G-aspard le Marchant, in which I 
repeated all that I had said to him the day before, and' told him that 
when I came to New York, if Mr. Stanley had no orders from him, I 
would publicly call on Mr. Crampton, Mr. Mathew, &c, and make 



460 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

them account for the inducements held out to me, and through which 
I was brought into this difficulty. I arrived in New York, two days 
afterwards, from Windsor, and called on Mr. Stanley ; hut, as I had 
anticipated, he had no orders. Mr. Stanley begged me to be quiet, 
and not make any noise, and assured me that I should be munificently 
compensated for my services for the foreign legion. I went to How- 
ard's Hotel, where I remained some time. While there, an old gen- 
tleman came in, asking me to abandon the English side. I said, "I 
can't do it." 

I returned to Philadelphia about the 15th of June, and waited 
until the 17th for a letter which Mr. Stanley had promised to write. 
I did not receive it, and therefore wrote him a letter, in which I re- 
quested him to pay for my services — I meant the money the govern- 
'ment owed me, and which he promised to obtain. I received in reply 
the letter marked M. (C. F. H.,) hereunto annexed. (This letter is 
already published, and will be found ante, page 147.) 

Previously to my going to Halifax, on the 23d of May, I wrote a* 
letter to Mr. Crampton, in which I stated that I had received inform- 
ation that he (Mr. Crampton) and his secretaries, all together, had 
said that I was in correspondence with the Russian government, for 
the purpose of betraying their secrets, and if they did not apologize 
for making this charge, I would call upon him and the Russian 
minister to make a statement. To this letter I received the letter 
hereto annexed, marked N. (C. F. H.) (This letter is already pub- 
lished, and will be found ante, page 146.) 

All that I did, in procuring and sending men to Halifax, for the 
foreign legion, was done by the advice and recommendation of Mr. 
Crampton, Mr. Howe, and Mr. Mathew. I was employed by Mr. 
Howe, and acted as his agent, with the knowledge and approbation 
of Mr. Crampton and Mr. Mathew. Mr. Mathew knew of both the 
expeditions I sent. He approved and encouraged me in sending them 
away. He encouraged me by his advice and counsel, and in giving 
me money to send them away. 

The statement which I now have made, I have made voluntarily, 
without any inducement other than the regret I feel in having vio- 
lated the laws of this country, and the desire which now prompts me 
to make every reparation in my power, by confessing my own fault, 
and exposing those who have induced me to enter into this illegal 
business. I make this statement in the hope that it may have its 
proper influence upon the government of the United States, in relation 
to any future action in the prosecution against me. I have made it, 
however, without any promise as to such future action, placing myself 
entirely upon the clemency of those who have the power to act in the 
premises. 

HENRY HERTZ. 
In testimony of all which, I hereunto subscribe my name and 
r -j affix my seal, this eleventh day of October, A. D. 1855, and 
L ".. -'.-I in the eightieth year of the Independence of the said United 
States-. 

CHARLES F. HEAZLITT, 

United States Commissioner. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 461 



Mr. Woodbury to Mr. Marcy. 

Boston, June 13, 1855. 

Sir : A complaint was brought before me, some days since, against 
a German named Caufman, for violation of the neutrality laws of the 
United States, by "hiring or retaining certain persons to go beyond 
the jurisdiction of the United States, with intent to be enlisted in the 
service of a foreign prince, Queen Victoria." The disclosures in the 
investigation of this cause produced other complaints and arrests. 
An investigation of, a week has led to the discovery of many impor- 
tant facts, which I conceive it my duty to communicate in a distinct 
shape to your department, that the government may adopt any action 
which it shall see fit. 

The provincial government of Nova Scotia has commenced, some 
two months since, the organization of a foreign legion, destined to 
serve in the British army in the war now pending in Russia. A 
proclamation signed by the provincial secretary, L. M. Wilkins, an- 
nounces that a bounty of $30, and a pay of $8 per month, will be 
given to every recruit. It further announces that shipmasters bring- 
ing to Halifax "poor men desirous of enlisting shall be paid their 
passages." 

The Hon. Joseph Howe, of Nova Scotia, late secretary, and I believe 
at present one of the railroad commissioners, came to the United 
States a month or six weeks since, and organized the recruiting ser- 
vice for this legion. 

From various disclosures, as well as testimony, I am induced to 
believe the organization to be as follows : 

Two regiments have been organized — one with Polish officers, one 
with German officers. About three hundred recruits were in depot 
at Halifax a fortnight ago ; fifty have sailed since from this port to 
join. The instructions are to enlist no Irish. Germans are sought 
for. Major Weisse commands at the depot. Baron Fonescan, Doctor 
Beale, and Lieutenant Zeimichi are at Halifax also. The other 
officers are now in the States, engaged in the business of recruiting. 

Information has been given me as to the details of the recruiting 
service, which I am inclined to credit. 

New York has been the place where the enlistment has gone on 
most actively ; Boston the shipping port for Halifax. Mr. Stanley, 
(a clerk, I believe, in the English consul's office,) and a Mr. Turnbull, 
are represented as having the organization of the financial department 
there. 

Colonel Smolenski, a Pole, formerly captain in the Polish service, 
major in the Hungarian war, and in service in Belgium, but lately an 
engraver, 251 Broadway, room 11, is the chief military officer stationed 
there : he speaks good English and French. Lieutenant Yesson, 
a German, and a Pole named Trietarky, (I write from the sound,) 



462 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

are the other military officers. A Captain Carstensen, a Dane, was 
here, and has fled ; is probably there. Lieutenant Thoman was here, 
and has fled ; is probably there. The inferior agents are boarding- 
house runners, intelligence-office keepers, &c. Jacoby resides in 
Christie street, office in Lewis street ; Kosenbaum, 353 Greenwich, 
said to be chief enlisting agent. 

The men gathered by these runners are sent on in squads of five to 
ten to Boston, their passages paid, and consigned to one of two or 
three German boarding-houses, where they are boarded until they can 
be shipped in a packet to Halifax. 

Dr. Kieckbach, a German, has been, and Captain Sierewski, a Pole, 
Lieutenant Galitsky, alias Celagi, a Pole, are in charge here of the 
forwarding of men to Halifax. They pay the boarding-masters, and 
ship the men in the packets. There are two lines of packets from 
here to Halifax, and the agents of these lines have advanced the money 
to pay the charges in Boston, and get their pay and passage-money 
on the arrival of the squads in Halifax. About fifty Germans have 
been rejected at Halifax, and most of them returned to New York. 

The boarding-masters are allowed four dollars a head for the men 
they send down ; two for the runner ; two for themselves. Complaint 
is made by many of the Germans going down that they are given but 
$14, instead of the $30 bounty promised, and paid Ad. a day instead 
of the $8 per month promised in the proclamation. 

Kecruiting agencies are said to be established at Portland, Phila- 
delphia, and Buffalo, and officers have gone further west to establish 
others. 

Major Piatt, represented as being of Mount Air, Canada, and his 
son, Captain Piatt, are probably in charge of this division. 

A large number of other officers are spread over the States in this 
business, some of whose names I am informed of, others not ; but 
their residences I cannot give. There are now in arrest, as witnesses 
here, about twelve men who have been brought thus far on their way 
to Halifax. They have seen none but the- runners and the forwarding 
agent here. A gentleman who has been connected with all their 
business has given much information, and other has been obtained by 
close investigation. 

The agent in Philadelphia is Mr. John Smith ; the one in Buffalo, 
Dr. Aschenfeldt. 

I presume these details are sufficient to enable you to form an 
opinion of the extent and character of the violation of our neutrality 
now being attempted by the authority of the English government. 
Since these investigations began here, two squads, of 6 or 8 each, 
sailed to Halifax, and then, learning of the departure of a packet, I 
communicated with the collector of the port, who directed a watch to 
be kept on her ; a squad of 21 men were seen to march to her, and 
were carried off. The agents who accompanied them to the packet 
are known. 

But few enlistments have taken place in Boston, as there are but a 
few thousand Germans who live here. Now that these arrests have 
been made here, the shipping port will probably be changed to Phila- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 463 

delphia or New York, and soon, I presume, they will send their men 
to Canada as the safest route. 

******** 

The district attorney has been absent from town for several days 
past, and in the conduct of these examinations has been represented by 
one of his assistants, who has performed with zeal and intelligence his 
proper duties. Except in the first case which came up, when we 
were not aware such important disclosures would be arrived at, I have 
not had the superior advantages of consultation with the United States 
attorney himself. Were he here, I should not undertake to give this 
information to the State Department, as it properly pertains to his of- 
ficial duty. Under the circumstances, however, I trust that neither 
the State Department nor the United States attorney will conceive 
that I am departing from propriety, or the respect due to them, in the 

course I have taken. 

******** 

I have the honor to be, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

CHAS. LEVI WOODBUKY, 

Commissioner Circuit Court U. S., District of Massachusetts. 
Hon. Wm. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. McKeon to Mr. Marcy. 

Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, June 18, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose an affidavit made by Morris Kieck- 
bach, before George W. Morton, esq., one of the commissioners of the 
United States. 

It relates to the means made use of by the colonial government of 
Nova Scotia to retain men within the jurisdiction of the United States, 
to proceed to Halifax, there to be entered or enlisted as soldiers of the 
Queen of Great Britain. 

I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient ser- 
vant, 

JOHN McKEON, 

U. S. District Attorney. 
Hon. W. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



Southern District of New York, ss : 

I, Morris Kieckbach, of No. 206| Canal street, physician, do swear 
that, about five months since, deponent arrived at this city from Bra- 
zils, and, at the instance of several families, went to Montreal, there 
to settle as a physician and surgeon. At Montreal deponent heard 
that the British government was about to form a foreign legion to go 



464 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

into the service on the continent, and that the authorized agent of the 
government was then at Boston. I then went to Boston, and found 
Colonel Smolenski and Captain Carstensen. Smolenski was to raise 
a Polish regiment, and Captain Carstensen was to have a command 
in the battalion of Germans raised by Major Weisse. Smolenski in- 
troduced me to the honorable Joseph Howe, in Boston. He boarded 
at the, Tremont House. This was about the 26th to the 28th of April 
last, or perhaps a day or two later. Mr. Howe declared himself to 
be the agent of the colonial government of Nova Scotia, and acknowl- 
edged me as staff or regimental surgeon to the Polish officers' regi- 
ment under Smolenski, and at the same time this deponent was en- 
gaged as the representative and agent, in lieu of Smolenski, at Bos- 
ton. This deponent's duty, as such agent, was to receive the persons 
who had been enlisted and sent to Boston, to bring them into board- 
ing-houses, ship them to Halifax, pay their debts, receive money from 
Clark, Jones, & Co. , for account of Howe, and to pay $4 a head for each 
man to the agent who had enlisted them. I acted as such agent to 
the 18th"May. I drew $327, Captain Carstensen $949, and Colonel 
Smolenski $465. Some of the men — say about 50 of 200" that I had 
sent — had been rejected at Halifax, who reproached me for having in- 
veigled them. I then went myself to Halifax. I there received per- 
mission from Governor le Marchant and Messrs. Howe and McDon- 
ald to visit Melville island, which is used as a depot for these men. 
I found there about 200 soldiers, who were very discontented. There 
was another house in Boston which paid agents' fees, viz : Sprague, 
Soule & Co. 

I represented to Governor le Marchant that the men were discon- 
tented, and he promised to see them satisfied. He referred me to Mr. 
Crampton, the British minister at Washington, who was to refund 
me what I had advanced out of my own funds, and to arrange with 
him about the further organization. He said that he (the governor) 
had no further power ; that the Home Office had transferred it to Mr. 
Crampton. I was told I would find Mr. Crampton at Washington, 
or at the British consulate of Mr. Grattan, in Boston, between the 5th 
and 15th June. Not finding Mr. Crampton there, I spoke to Mr. 
Grattan, who also referred me to Mr. Crampton, and said that he 
would not be in Boston. I then went to New York, and spoke to Vice 
Oonsul Stanley, British vice consul at New York. Mr. Stanley told 
me he heard and read that there was a warrant out against him ; that 
there were many spies about, and that he had no order to pay me ; 
and when I spoke to him about Mr. Crampton, he said that all my 
business with Crampton must come through him. 

Dr. M. KIECKBACH. 

Sworn to before me, June 18, 1855. 

GEOKGE W. MORTON, 

United States Commissioner. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 465 



THE SEIZURE OF THE BARQUE MAURY. 



Report of the Committee of the New York Chamber of Commerce, 

November 27, 1855. 

The committee appointed by the Chamber of Commerce to ascertain 
and report the facts connected with the late seizure of the American 
barque " Maury," on the information of Mr. Barclay, her Majesty's 
consul at New York, respectfully submit, for the information of the 
chamber, the following documents : 

No. 1. Mr. Hunter, Assistant Secretary of State, to Attorney Gene- 
ral, October 12, 1855. 

No. 2. Telegraphic dispatch from Attorney General to United States 
attorney, New York, October 12, 1855. 

No. 3. Attorney General to Secretary of State, October 12, 1855. 

No. 4. United States attorney, New York, to her Britannic Majesty's 
consul, October 13, 1855. 

No. 5. Same to collector of port, October 13, 1855. 

No. 6. Attorney General to United States attorney, New York, 
October 13, 1855. 

No 7. Her Britannic Majesty's envoy, &c, to Secretary of State, 
with four affidavits, October 11, 1855. 

No. 8. United States attorney, New York, to Charles Edwards, esq., 
October 16, 1855. 

No. 9, Deputy surveyor of port to United States attorney, New 
York, October 15, 1855. 

No. 10. Inspectors of customs to surveyor of port, October 15, 1855. 

No. 11. United States attorney, New York, to Attorney General, 
October 17, 1855. 

No. 12. Same to United States marshal, October 17, 1855. 

No. 13. United States marshal to United States attorney, October 
19, 1855. 

No. 14. Messrs. Low to same, October 18, 1855. 

No. 15. Charles Edwards, esq., to same, October 19, 1855. 

No. 16. United States attorney, New York, to Attorney General, 
October 19, 1855. 

No. 17. Attorney General to Secretary of State, October 19, 1855. 

No. 18. Same to United States attorney, New York, October 22, 
1855. 

No. 19. Same to Secretary of State, October 22, 1854. 

No. 20. United States attorney, New York, to Attorney General, 
October 20, 1855. 
30 a 



466 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

No. 21. A. A. Low & Brothers to John A. Stevens, chairman of 
committee of Chamber of Commerce. 

No. 22. Depositions of J. N. Cornell and Wm. D. Craft, police 
officers, before the mayor, November 23, 1855. 

Your committee have sought no further evidence, as all the facts 
and suspicions are comprised in these papers. Proceeding to consider 
their import, it is to be remarked that the firm in question are Ameri- 
can merchants of this city, having a number of vessels, chiefly employed 
in the Pacific, China, and India seas ; being, perhaps, more largely 
engaged in this branch of commerce than any other house in the 
United States ; that they are directors and managers in many import- 
ant commercial institutions, are of high commercial standing, and are 
well known as men of probity and honor. 

Your committee find that the barque "Maury" was built in this 
city during the past summer for this firm ; that she was advertised by 
them for thirteen days before the date of the affidavit, under their 
own name, in five daily papers, to wit : the Courier and Enquirer, 
Journal of Commerce, Commercial Advertiser, New York Express, and 
Evening Post, for Shanghae, in China ; was loading wholly on freight ; 
and never having taken her first clearance, her register had not been 
then issued from the custom-house ; that there was on board an arma- 
ment of four guns, with a moderate supply of small-arms, and also 
ten guns on freight, and that other cargo was being received. These 
guns were first placed in the lower hold, as temporary ballast ; were 
afterwards raised to the between-decks, and were never concealed in 
any way whatever. Such armament and freight are not unusual for 
vessels bound for the China seas ; and vessels similarly equipped have 
heretofore been dispatched from this and other ports in the United 
States, without suspicion or notice ; and, apart from other circum- 
stances, armament and guns in the China trade afford no cause to 
suspect any intended infraction of the neutrality or revenue laws, nor 
any intended illegal or questionable employment. Your committee 
have not been able to ascertain, and do not believe, that there were 
any other facts which could reasonably lead to such suspicions in 
regard to this vessel. It is manifest, however, that they were enter- 
tained by the British consul here, and by the British minister at 
Washington; for upon the affidavits and statements submitted by 
these functionaries, without a full ascertainment of the truth in a 
matter so important, and without an inquiry from the owners, and 
chiefly on an oath of belief, without a statement of the facts on which 
it was founded, the " Maury" was taken possession of by the United 
States marshal, on the afternoon of the 17th of October, under process 
from the United States court, founded on a libel, sworn to by the 
British consul, as forfeited for a breach of the neutrality laws. 

In view of your committee, the feelings of a respectable firm, and 
the character of New York merchants, have been needlessly dispar- 
aged and assailed, through heedlessness and culpable want of inquiry, 
or strange credulity on the part of those making the representations 
to the officers of the American government ; for it is clear that in the 
lapse of seven days, between the day on which the affidavits were 
made and the day of the seizure, the true destination of the vessel, 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 467 

and all the facts of the case, could have been ascertained. The state- 
ment of Messrs. Low, so satisfactory after the seizure, could have been 
as easily obtained before it was made, by a simple application to them. 
Their advertisements of the vessel were in five daily papers, from the 
27th of September to the 24th October ; and the seizure, upon suspi- 
cions so carelessly, so credulously entertained, is truly remarkable. 

The appearance of the marshal was the first intimation to the house 
that their standing and character had not protected them from the 
charge of being engaged in an unlawful and disgraceful undertaking. 
But these slanderous affidavits could not stand an examination, and 
instantly vanished before their simple statement. The exhibition of 
the unaccountable misapprehension, ignorance, and credulity, on 
which the charge was based, alone survives. The proceeding of Mr. 
Barclay was withdrawn on the second day — one day being lost by his 
unwillingness to act at all without seeing Mr. Edwards. The cham- 
ber will remark that the affidavits were all sworn upon the same day, 
(the 10th of October,) and that the steamer Pacific, which left this 
port on the 17th of October, took out the information which has caused 
so much excitement and alarm on the other side of the Atlantic, unless 
it was forwarded by a preceding steamer. This information, thus 
hurried off prior to the seizure of the u Maury," was ex parte entirely, 
and no explanation could accompany it. By a public card of the 20th 
instant, Mr. Barclay denies " having written a dispatch to her Majes- 
ty's government in regard to that ship. Therefore, from whom it 
emanated, and by whose indiscretion the relations between the two 
countries were rudely jarred, is wholly in the dark. The letters of Mr. 
Barclay and Mr. Crampton leave upon them the burden of answering 
the inquiry. Your committee were greatly surprised to observe, by 
Mr. Crampton' s note to the Secretary of State, that he had been in- 
formed by Mr. Barclay not only that " he has good reason to believe 
that this vessel (the ' Maury') is intended for the service of Bussia in 
the present war, but that a plan exists for fitting vessels of a similar 
description in other ports of the United States, with the express de- 
sign of committing hostility against her Majesty's government, and 
more particularly of intercepting and capturing the British mail 
steamers plying between Liverpool and Boston." For such a state- 
ment your committee have been able to find no warrant in the affida- 
vit by any person, or of any fact, or indeed of any belief. They be- 
lieve that no fact exists warranting any such statement, and they share 
a common surprise that any man living in this city, or having com- 
munication with it, should for a moment believe it. On the contrary, 
the committee have it from the highest authority that the government 
has no knowledge, belief, or suspicion that any privateer, or other 
armed vessel, is fitting out, or has been fitted out, in this country, for 
or against any of the European belligerents. 

The committee further report, that the following card from the 
British consul appeared in the New York Herald of the 24th October, 
and do not find that it was published in any other paper : 

"Misrepresentations on the above subject (regarding the 'Maury') 
having been published in various newspapers, among others that mu- 
nitions of war were found on board ' secreted under a quantity of cot- 



468 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

ton,' I desire to disabuse the mind of the public of that impression by 
stating that such was not the case. 

" Had my endeavors, made before information was formally lodged, 
to ascertain the owners of the ship l Maury/ succeeded, the explana- 
tions which that respectable firm (Messrs. A. A. Low & Brothers)' 
gave after the libel was filed would have been sought by me, and no 
doubt would have been given before, and the course which was adopted 
would not have been resorted to. 

"A. BARCLAY, 
"Her Britannic Majesty's Consul. 

"New York, October 23, 1855." 

This publication was not in time for the next steamer, which sailed 
from Boston for Liverpool the same day. It is for the chamber to* 
consider whether this card was an adequate atonement to the house 
whose vessel had been seized, or to this commercial community ; or 
whether, in so grave a matter, affecting the sensibilities of two great 
nations, the most speedy and wide-spread recantation was not due to 
both — alike from the British consul and the British minister. 

The government of the United States, from the time of the adminis- 
tration of Washington to the present case of the 'Maury,' during all 
the contests which have existed since their independence, has, without 
fear or partiality, strictly enforced the rigid neutrality laws of the- 
United States. 

Although lawless men have sometimes escaped its vigilance, no ad- 
ministration of this government has given reason to doubt its determi- 
nation to maintain them. When the authorities by accident have 
not been able to prevent the offences, they have uniformly brought the 
offenders to trial at the earliest opportunity ; and such trials have 
always been made with all the urgency which is consistent with justice. 

It is due to our country briefly to recall the features of our neu- 
trality laws. They not only express the political but commercial sen- 
timent of the country. First enacted in 1794, they have been contin- 
ued and made more effectual by repeated subsequent enactments. No 
laws are more widely or generally known among public men. They 
forbid any citizen to accept any commission to serve against any peo- 
ple at peace with the United States. They forbid foreigners tran- 
siently within the United States, or on board any vessel within its ju- 
risdiction, to enlist, or to go abroad to be enlisted, in the service of 
any nation at war with any such people. They forbid the fitting or 
arming any vessel, or increasing the armament of any armed vessel, 
with intent to be employed in any such service. 

They forbid all military expeditions against any nation at peace 
with the United States, from the beginning, to provide means there- 
for, to the actual departure of such expeditions. They forbid the 
being concerned in fitting out any vessel to commit hostilities against 
any nation at peace with the United States. 

These laws are the well-known expression of public opinion, and 
the common sentiment of the country. They have been enforced, as 
occasion required, against and in favor of all nations alike — against 
France, our earliest ally ; in favor of Spain, when we had serious 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 469 

questions with her ; against the weak and rising republics of this 
continent ; and now, without partiality or fear, against England, 
the most warlike and the most commercial of nations having rela- 
tions with us. 

The Chamber of Commerce of New York, holding these enactments 
as binding equally in law, honor, and conscience, claim but a common 
right in asserting that a charge of violating them — a charge which 
they deem a disgraceful impeachment — should not be lightly made, 
nor without careful inquiry, against any of their members. 

The committee unanimously recommend to the chamber the 
adoption of the following resolutions : 

1. Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of New York receive 
and adopt the report, as a correct statement, and as containing the 
sense of this body on the subject. 

2. Resolved, That no proper amends or apology have been made to 
A. A. Low & Brothers, for the charge brought agamst them, which, 
if true, would have rendered them infamous ; nor to the merchants 
of this city and country, so falsely and injuriously assailed. 

3. Resolved, That the merchants of New York, as part of the body 
of merchants of the United States, will uphold the government in the 
full maintenance of the neutrality laws of the country ; and we 
acknowledge and adopt, and always have regarded the acts of the 
United States for preserving its neutrality, as binding in honor and 
conscience, as well as in law ; and that we denounce those who 
violate them as disturbers of the peace of the world, to be held in 
universal abhorrence. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

JOHN A. STEVENS, 
GEORGE GRISWOLD, 
P. PEEIT, 
E. E. MORGAN, 
THOMAS TILESTON, 
CHARLES H. MARSHALL, 
STEWART BROWN, 
MOSES H. GRINNELL, 
ROYAL PHELPS, 
ROBERT C. GOODHUE, 
JAMES LEE. 

New York, November 27, 1855. 



APPENDIX. 



No. 1. 

Department oe State, 
Washington, October 12, 1855. 
Sir : By direction of the Secretary of State, I have the honor to 
enclose a copy of a note of the 11th instant, addressed to this depart- 



470 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

ment by Mr. Crampton, her Britannic Majesty's minister, and of the 
affidavits which accompanied it, relative to a vessel called the 
"Maury," which is stated to have been fitted out at New York, in 
violation of the laws of the United States, for the purpose of cruising 
against British vessels. 

I have the honor to he, very respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

W. HUNTER, 

Assistant Secretary. 
Hon. Caleb Cushing, Attorney General. 



No. 2. 



Washington, October 12, 1855. 

(By telegraph.) 

Mr. Crampton alleges that the vessel called "Maury," in Dover- 
street dock, is armed for war against England. Please take informa- 
tion from Mr. Barclay, and prosecute if cause appears. 

Copies by letter to-morrow. 



John McKeon, Attorney U. S. , New York. 



C. CUSHING. 



No. 3. 

Attorney General's Office, 

October 12, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to inform you that, in consequence of the 
information communicated this day by Mr. Crampton, the minister of 
Great Britain, in regard to the vessel called the "Maury," instruc- 
tions have been dispatched to the attorney of the United States in 
New York to advise immediately with Mr. Barclay, the British con- 
sul there, and to institute the proper legal proceedings in the case, if 
sufficient cause to justify the same shall appear. 
I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 
Hon. W, L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



No. 4. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, Oct. 13, 1855, 9^ A. M. 
Sir : Late last evening I received from the Attorney General of the 
United States a telegraphic dispatch, requesting me to obtain infor- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 471 

mation from you, in relation to a vessel in this port, supposed to be 
engaged in a violation of our neutrality laws. 

I called this morning at 9^ o'clock at your office, with the marshal 
of this district, but the office was not open. Will you do me the 
favor to call at once at my office, or send to me the information, so 
that I may act ? 
With great respect, I remain, your obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 

U. 8. District Attorney. 
' Anthony Barclay, Esq. , 

Consul of her Britannic Majesty. 



No. 5. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. 8. District Attorney's Office, October 13, 1855. 

Sir : You will please send at once on board of a vessel called the 
u Maury " an inspector, and examine into her cargo. 

She lies at Dover street dock. You will please delay her clearance 
until a report is made to me of her cargo. 
Yery respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 

U. 8. District Attorney. 
H. J. Kedfield, Esq., 

Collector, &c. 



No. 6. 



Attorney General's Office, 

October 13, 1855. 

Sir: Yesterday I telegraphed you concerning the ship " Maury," 
said to be fitting out in New York, in violation of the statutes of the 
United States. 

I now enclose to you a copy of a dispatch from Mr. Crampton, the 
British minister, dated the 11th instant, to which I there referred. 
With this document before you, and the information which Mr. Bar- 
clay may impart, you will be able to understand what further it may 
be proper for you to do in the premises. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 

John McKeon, Esq., 

United States Distinct Attorney. 



472 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

No. 7. 

British Legation, 
Washington, October 11, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to call your attention to the enclosed deposi- 
tions, which have to-day been forwarded to me by Mr. Barclay, her 
Majesty's consul at New York, in regard to a vessel called the " Mau- 
ry/' which is now fitting out at that port, and which, it appears, ig 
evidently intended for warlike purposes. 

Mr. Barclay further informs me that he has good reason to believe 
that this vessel is intended for the service of Eussia in the present war, 
and also that a plan exists for fitting vessels of a similar description 
in Other ports of the United States, with the express design of com- 
mitting hostilities against her Majesty's government, and more par- 
ticularly of intercepting and capturing the British mail steamers ply- 
ing between Liverpool and Boston. 

However this may be, the circumstances stated in the enclosed affi- 
davits are of so positive a nature, and bear so suspicious an appearance, 
that I feel it to be my duty to call the attention of the United States 
government to the matter, with a view to an inquiry into the facts ; 
and if these shall be confirmed, to the adoption of such measures on 
the part of the United States authorities as may defeat the hostile in- 
tentions which appear to be entertained by the persons engaged in 
fitting out the vessel or vessels in question. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assurance 
of my high consideration. 

JOHN F. CRAMPTON. 

Hon. Wm. L. Marcy. 



City, County, and State of New York : 

Anthony Barclay, her Britannic Majesty's consul for the State of 
New York, being duly sworn, doth depose and say : That from infor- 
mation given to him, he verily believes, and expects to be able to 
prove, that a certain new vessel, now in the port of New York, called 
the " Maury," has been built, fitted out, and armed, with intent that 
such vessel should be employed by the Russian government to cruise 
and commit hostilities against the subjects and property of the queen 
of Great Britain, with whom the United States are at peace, and this 
deponent stands ready to bring forward his proof thereof ; and he 
respectfully claims that proceedings be had and taken, whereby the 
said vessel, with her tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with all 
material, and ammunition, and stores, which may have been procured 
for this building and equipment thereof, shall and may be forfeited. 

ANTHONY BARCLAY. 

Sworn to this 10th day of October, 1855, before me, 

GEORGE W. MORTON, 

United States Commissioner. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 473 

City, County, and State of New York : 

John N. Cornell, of New York city, police officer and dock-master 
of the eleventh ward, being duly sworn, maketh oath and saith : 
That his suspicions have been excited for several weeks past by the 
appearance of a new three-masted, square-rigged schooner, which was 
lying at the foot of Stanton street, New York, up to Monday evening, 
the 8th of October, when she moved down to Dover street dock, and 
is there now; that she has the name of the " Maury" upon her stern, 
but has never yet been out of port, and deponent has ascertained at 
the custom-house of the port of New York that she has not at present 
got her-register ; that this deponent is well acquainted with the build 
of vessels, and he has no hesitation in deposing that this vessel, 
named the " Maury," is built, rigged, and equipped for warlike pur- 
poses, and has not the construction of a vessel for the merchant ser- 
vice ; that his suspicions were particularly aroused from the nature of 
her cargo she has taken on board, which consists of war cannon, can- 
non balls, small arms, coals, sixty or eighty extra spars, and other 
mercantile articles ; that this deponent, within a few days last past, 
has been over the whole of the said vessel ; at the bottom of the said 
vessel, and just above what appears to be intended as ballast, are from 
two hundred to three hundred square boxes, containing cannon balls; 
also, there are from eighteen to twenty cannon intermingled with 
the said boxes, apparently so that they may pack well ; on the top of 
the cannon is a large quantity of coal, while on top of the coal is a lot 
of lumber and the aforesaid extra spars; in the lockers of the cabin is 
a very large quantity of guns, pistols, swords, and other implements 
of war ; and this deponent verily believes that she is so fitted out for 
warlike purposes ; her cannon are all mounted, and she has port-holes 
for cannon. And this deponent further says, that a person who as- 
sumed to act as first mate of the vessel showed her to deponent, and 
remarked she had a curious kind of cargo, and the manner of the mate 
was such as to make defendant believe that the vessel was going on a 
warlike voyage ; the said mate told deponent that some of the afore- 
said cannon were for eighteen and twenty pound ball, and that the 
cannon on the main deck were for nine pound ball calibre ; deponent 
saw the mark "23" upon one of the cannon, and the mate said that 
was the number of the cannon ; and this deponent further saith, that 
from all he knows and has been informed, and has observed, he be- 
lieves that the said vessel, the "Maury," has been built, and armed, 
and equipped as aforesaid, by the Russian government, or its agents, 
to be used for war purposes against Great Britain ; and he hereby in- 
forms against her and her equipment accordingly. 

JOHN N. CORNELL. 

Sworn at the city of New York, second circuit, the 10th day of 
October, 1855, before me, 

GEORGE W. MORTON, 

United States Commissioner. 



474 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

City, County, and State of New York : 

Charles Ediuards, of the city of New York, counsellor at law, "being 
sworn, maketli oath and saith, he verily believes the new vessel 
" Maury" has "been built, equipped, and loaded by and for the Kussian 
government, to be used in the present war against the vessels and 
subjects of Great Britain. 

That a person, who deponent believes has been in the pay of Russia, 
gave him a full explanation of the armament on board the said vessel, 
which tallies with the statement contained in the affidavit of John 
N. Cornell, hereto annexed, except that the explanation to this depo- 
nent was much more minute. 

Also, this deponent gathered from the person referred to, that the 
said vessel, the ""Maury," when outside of port, would ship a new 
crew of about eighty men, and she would be employed at first more 
particularly in attempting to overhaul some one or more of what are 
known as the " Cunard steamers," (British vessels,) and take them 
as prizes, put additional coal on board, and guns, and then go in com- 
pany ; while there were also other vessels built and fitted out by the 
Eussian government similar to the " Maury," who were ready to join 
her on a similar errand, with an ultimate destination against British 
possessions in the eastern hemisphere. 

CHARLES EDWARDS. 

Sworn at the city of New York, second circuit, the 10th day of Oc- 
tober, 1855, before me, 

a. W. H. MARTIN. 



City, County, and State of New York: 

William D. Craft, of New York, first lieutenant of police, of the 
eleventh district of police for the city of New York, being duly sworn, 
doth depose and say : That on the 6th day of October, instant, he 
went on board a new vessel called the "Maury/' then lying at the 
foot of Stanton street, New York, and was shown over her. On her 
upper deck were six cannon all mounted, and port-holes for the guns, 
and between-decks were ten cannon, all mounted ; also, deponent 
saw a quantity of horse-pistols in the cabin; there "was coal on board, 
and deponent was informed that there were a number of guns under- 
neath the coal. Deponent also discovered boxes between-decks. The 
between-decks were all clear fore and aft, with the exception of pump- 
well and chain-box. She was painted white between-decks, with the 
exception of the lower side of the deck-beams, they being of yellow pine. 
And this deponent also saith, that he was a ship-carpenter by trade, 
and from his observation of the particular build, furniture, and appa- 
rel of the said " Maury," he believes she is a vessel-of-war. 

WM. D. CRAFT. 

Sworn at the city of New York, second circuit, the 10th day of 
October. 1855, before me, 

G. W. H. MARTIN, M. Cir. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 475 

No. 8. 

Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, October 16, 1855. 

Sir : I have prepared a libel against the ship or vessel called the 
" Maury," upon the facts laid before the government by her Britannic 
Majesty's envoy at Washington. 

A verification of the pleading is required to be made by some party 
officially recognized as representing her Britannic Majesty's govern- 
ment at this port. 

I am, very respectfully, 

JOHN McKEON, 
United States District Attorney. 
Charles Edwards, Esq. 



No. 9. 



Custom-house, New York, 
Surveyor's Office, October 15, 1855. 

Sir : I enclose report of district officers who examined the barque 
' ' Maury," pursuant to instructions. This barque is new, and has not 
yet taken out her register ; said to be owned by Low & Brothers, 
whose vessels are all, I believe, engaged in the China trade. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. L. BENEDICT, 
Deputy Surveyor, for Surveyor. 
H. J. Kedfield, Esq., Collector. 



No. 10. 



New York, October 15, 1855. 

Dear Sir : Pursuant to instructions, we have been on board the 
barque " Maury/' and found her laden on her ground-tier with coal, 
and naval stores above the coal. 

She was taking onboard, on Saturday last, the 13th, cases of goods, 
casks of hardware, scales and beams, pickles, preserves, and catsups. 

She has on her lower deck ten, and on her upper deck four cannon, 
all mounted. 

The dock clerks say she is loading for Shanghae, to go in the opium 
trade. 

Yours, respectfully, 



John Cochrane, Esq., 

Surveyor of the port. 



JACOB BITTEL, 
A. W. SHADBOLT, 

Inspectors. 



476 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



No. 11. 

Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, October Vl, 1855. 

Sir : I have tlie honor to report that, acting on the communication 
from you, and after consultation with Mr. Barclay and his legal ad- 
viser, I have this day filed a libel on the admiralty side of the United 
States district court against the vessel assuming to be called the 
"Maury," under the 3d section of the neutrality act of the 20th of 
April, 1818. 

With high respect, your obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 
United States District Attorney. 
Hon. Caleb Cushing, 

Attorney General of the United States. 



No. 12. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, October 17, 1855. 

Sir : I take the liberty to request that you will have the cargo of 
the u Maury " carefully examined, and communicate tome the result. 
It is proper for me to state, that it is supposed that you will find 
munitions of war stowed under the lading of coal on board. 
Very respectfully, 

JOHN McKEON, 

U. S. District Attorney. 
A. T. Hillyer, Esq., 

U. S. Marshal. Southern District New York, 



No. 13. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. S. Marshal's Office, N. Y, October 19, 1855. 

Sir : In reply to your communication of the 17th instant, request- 
ing me to have the cargo of the c ' Maury ' ' carefully examined and 
report to you the result, I beg leave to inform you that I have ascer- 
tained there are 250 tons of coal in the run of said vessel ; 10 iron 
cannon between decks, mounted on wooden carriages ; 4 ditto on deck ; 
& number of boxes containing muskets, not opened; a number of small 
and side-arms in the cabin ; a lot of shot, and an assorted cargo, lum- 
ber, &c. Should it be deemed necessary to have the cargo thoroughly 
overhauled and the coal taken out, the expense attending such labor 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 477 

would not be less than $150 or $200. Awaiting your further instruc- 
tions in the case, 

I remain your obedient servant, 

AB. T. HILLYER, 
United States Marshal. 
John McKeon, Esq., 

United States Attorney. 



No. 14. 



New York, October 18, 1855. 

Sir: The barque " Maury," owned in part by the undersigned, 
having been seized by a process from your office, we beg to offer the 
following explanations, viz : 

That the said vessel was built by Messrs. Roosevelt, Joice & Co., of 
this city, under a contract made in the month of April last, after the 
model of the barque Penguin ; that she was designed for the China 
trade ; that there is nothing peculiar in her construction, apart from 
the rig, which was adopted with particular reference to economy in 
men ; that, in pursuance of the original intention, she was advertised 
some three weeks since for Shanghae, since which she has been receiv- 
ing freight for that port ; that she has on board, from Messrs. Fogg & 
Brothers, 200 tons of coal, a quantity of naval stores, and a variety of 
ship-chandlery, for their house in China, with a little other general 
freight, with which she is expected to sail the coming week, under the 
command of Captain Fletcher, for the port above named. 

We further declare, that in addition to the ordinary armament of a 
vessel of her class, she has but two deck guns, supposed to be neces- 
sary in consequence of the great increase in the number of pirates on 
the coast of China ; that the other guns, shot, &c, on board, as per 
subjoined list, were purchased under an order from an American gen- 
tleman at Canton, and shipped per "Maury" on freight ; that said 
vessel has four spare spars, one fore-topgallant mast, one fore-top- 
gallant yard, one main boom, one main gaff-boom, and five extra stud- 
ding-sail booms ; and that her crew will consist of but twelve or 
fourteen men before the mast. 

They furthermore declare that the vessel received the name of 
'" Maury" in the month of May last, not to dishonor a man of whom 
our country has so much reason to be proud, but to bear upon an 
honorable mission the name of him who has done so much to improve 



navigation 



The undersigned pledge themselves to prove to the satisfaction of 
the British consul, while "the vessel is still under the charge of the 
United States marshal, that the allegations made against the vessel 
are false ; that she has no guns or materials of war under her coal, 
asking only that the expense to which they may be thus sub- 
jected shall be borne by the said consul when, and only when, the 



478 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

statements upon which the vessel has been so unjustly seized are fully 
disproved. 

Finally, they declare that the Kussians have no connexion, what- 
ever with the enterprise in question. 

A. A. LOW, 
Of the firm of A. A. Loio & Brothers. 
Hon. John McKeon, 

U. 8. District Attorney. 

On freight 10 guns, 62 boxes of shot. 

Sworn to before me,, this 18th day of October, 1855. 

GEORGE F. BETTS, 
U. 8. Commissioner. 

I hereby swear that I am cognisant of the facts mentioned in the 
foregoing statement, and that they are true. 

NATH. B. PALMER. 

Sworn to before me, this 18th day of October, 1855. 

GEORGE F. BETTS, 

U. 8. Commissioner. 



No. 15. 
In the matter of the "Maury." 

New York, October 19, 1855. 

Dear Sir : From the explanations made in the case by Messrs. A. 
A. Low & Brothers, under oath, and your own very proper sugges- 
tions, I deem it reasonable that you should be left entirely free ; con- 
fessing that, although statements to me were very strong, it would be 
but fair towards the owners to "lift" the libel. 
I remain, dear sir, yours always, very respectfully, 

CHARLES EDWARDS. 
John McKeon, Esq v 

U. 8. District Attorney. 



No. 16. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. 8. District Attorney's Office, October 19, 1855. 
Sir: Since filing the libel against the barque "Maury," reported 
to you on the 17th instant, I have been attended by one of the firm 
of A. A. Low & Brothers, the owners of the "Maury," who fur- 
nished me an original statement, which I enclose. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 479 

Charles Edwards, esq., was present when the explanations were 
made, and has addressed to me a letter, of which I transmit a copy. 
Upon a full view of all the circumstances, I deemed it right to order a 
discharge of the vessel, and to ask your concurrence in dismissing the 
libel. 

I have the honor to remain, sir, your obedient servant, 

JOHN McKEON, 



Hon. Caleb Gushing, 

Attorney General U. S. 



TJ. S. District Attorney. 



No. 17. 



Attorney General's Office, 

October 19, 1855. 
Sir : I have the honor to enclose herewith a copy of a letter this day 
received from Mr. McKeon, attorney of the United States for southern 
New York, reporting the institution of process against the vessel called 
"Maury," as to which complaint has been made by the British min- 
ister, alleging that said vessel is armed, in violation of law, to cruise 
against a friendly power. 

I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 
Hon. William L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



No. 18. 



Attorney General's Office, 

October 22, 1855. 

Sir: I have received your letter of the 19th instant, communicating 
the result of inquiry regarding the barque " Maury." 

The allegation against that vessel was improbable on its face ; but, 
determined as the President is not to suffer any one of the belligerent 
powers to trespass on the neutral rights of the United States, it was 
deemed proper to investigate the case, out of respect for the British 
minister, through whom the British consul at New York preferred 
complaint in the premises. 

It is made manifest, by the documents which you transmit, that the 
suspicions of the British consul as to the character and destination of 
the "Maury" were wholly erroneous; and justice to her owners and 
freighters requires that the libel against her be dismissed. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHING. 

Hon. John McKeon, 

Attorney of United States, New York. 



480 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

No. 19. 

Attorney General's Office, 

October 22, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to communicate to you the history and result 
of the proceedings in the case of the barque "Maury," of New York. 

In consequence of the British minister's communication to you of 
the 11th instant, and which you referred to me on the day of its re- 
ceipt (the 12th,) brie instructions were on the same day dispatched 
by telegraph to Mr. McKeon, attorney of the United States for the 
southern district of New York, and more detailed instructions by mail 
the next day, requesting him to make immediate inquiry on the sub- 
ject of the " Maury," to consult thereon with Mr. Barclay, the Brit- 
ish consul at New York, and, if sufficient probable cause appeared, 
to institute the proper process against her in the district court. 

These instructions were induced by the documents communicated 
by the British minister, copies of which were transmitted by me to 
Mr. McKeon. 

The documents consisted of — 

1. An affidavit by Mr. Barclay, setting forth that he believed, and 
expected to be able to prove, that the " Maury" was built, fitted out, 
and armed, with intent to be employed by the Russian government to 
cruise against the subjects of Great Britain, and that he stood ready 
to bring forward his proof thereof. 

2. An affidavit of one Cornell, purporting to be a police officer in 
New York, who professes to describe the build, equipment, armament, 
and cargo of the " Maury," and concludes with expression of belief 
that she was built, armed, and equipped by the Eussian government 
for war purposes against Great Britain. 

3. An affidavit of one Craft, also purporting to be a police officer in 
New York, who speaks more guardedly, briefly describes the visible 
armament of the "Maury," repeats hearsay as to her freight, and ex- 
presses belief that she is a vessel-of-war. 

4. Finally, the affidavit of Mr. Edwards, a counsellor-at-law in 
New York, understood to be counsel for the British consul, who says 
that he verily believes that the "Maury" was built, equipped, and 
loaded by and for the Russian government, to be used in the present 
war against the vessels and subjects of Great Britain. 

Mr. Edwards then proceeds to state that a person, who he believes 
has been in the pay of the Russian government, gave him a full ex- 
planation of the armament and destination of the "Maury." He 
(Mr. Edwards) " gathered from the person referred to," that the plan 
of the "Maury" was to attack and capture one of the Cunard British 
mail steamers, arm the prize, and, after being joined by other vessels 
of the same construction, built and fitted out by the Russian gov- 
ernment, to proceed to attack the " British possessions" in the East 

Indies. 

The representations concerning the "Maury, "which Mr. Edwards 
thus adopted, were so grossly improbable on their face, and had^ so 
much the air of a contrivance to impose on him, and, through him, 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 481 

the British consul, as to produce some hesitation in my mind as to 
the propriety of instituting process in the case ; hut the specific and 
positive statements of Cornell and Craft, especially the former, as to 
the huild, rig, armament, and imputed contents of the vessel, seemed 
to me, on the whole, to justify and require an examination of the case, 
at the hazard of possible inconvenience to innocent parties. 

To make sucjh examination effectual, it was necessary to libel the 
" Maury," and place her in charge of the marshal. 

I have now received from Mr. McKeon a report of the result of the 
investigation. 

It appears that the "Maury" was owned in part by Messrs. A. A. 
Low & Brothers, who have afforded satisfactory information as to her 
construction, character, and destination. 

They make affidavit that she was built and equipped for trade with 
China, having, in addition to the ordinary armament of vessels in that: 
business, only two deck guns, deemed requisite on account of the in- 
crease of piracy in the seas of China. 

It further appears by these explanations, that the statements made 
as to the guns and munitions of war and extra spars on board the 
"Maury" were inaccurate, to use the mildest admissable expression; 
that the surmises as to the illegality of her character are not sub- 
stantiated by proof; and that she is, in fact, advertised for general 
affreightment, and receiving cargo destined for Shanghae. 

Neither Mr. Barclay nor Mr. Edwards brought forward any evi- 
dence to contradict these facts ; on the contrary, Mr. Edwards has, in 
a letter addressed to Mr. McKeon, expressed his conviction of the pro- 
priety of dismissing the libel ; which is also recommended unreser- 
vedly by Mr. McKeon. 

Under these circumstances, it affords me pleasure to enable you to- 
give assurance that the Cunard mail-steamers may continue to enter 
and to leave our ports, without apprehension of being captured by the 
" Maury," and converted into Kussian men-of-war for the prosecution 
of hostilities in the East Indies. 

I annex copies of Mr. McKeon's report; of the affidavits submitted 
by parties interested in the ' ' Maury, " or in her lading ; and of the 
letter of Mr. Edwards to Mr. McKeon. 
I am, very respectfully, 

C. CUSHINGL 

Hon. Wm. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



No. 20. 



Southern District of New York, 
U. S. District Attorney's Office, New York, November 20, 1855. 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose a copy of a letter received from 
Hon. M. H. Grinnell. 

I am not aware of any objection on our part, but still I desire to 
31 A 



482 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 

have your assent to the application before I deliver the papers re- 
ferred to in Mr. Grrinnell's letter. 
Ver y respectfully, 

JOHN McKEON, 



Hon. Caleb Gushing, 

Attorney General, dec. 



United States District Attorney. 



No. 21. 



'To John A. Stevens, Esq., Chairman of Committee of Chamber of 

Commerce. 

The barque u Maury" was launched about the last of September ; 
and, at an early day thereafter, the undersigned agreed, with Fogg 
Brothers, of this city, to take for them to the port of Shanghae, in 
China, two hundred tons of coal, one thousand barrels of merchandise, 
and seventy to eighty tons of measurement goods. 

The coals not being at once available, ten mounted guns and their 
equipments, intended to have been sent by the " N. B. Palmer," but 
not ready in season for her, were sent to the vessel to be placed in her 
bottom, and to serve as ballast till the coal could be had. When thi3 
was put on board, the guns were raised between decks, and shortly 
afterwards the vessel was moved to her berth at pier 27 East river. 

Having been publicly advertised by the undersigned for the port of 
Shanghae, in five daily papers, the "Maury" was receiving freight 
at the place above named on the seventeenth day of October, at 2 to 3 
o'clock p. m., when the United States deputy marshal appeared on 
board, displaced the captain, and ordered the hatches of the vessel to 
be closed. 

Captain Fletcher immediately made known to us what had taken 
place, and the writer repaired to the office of the United States district 
attorney to obtain an explanation.- He was in court, and appointed 
the following morning for an interview. At 9 a. m. of Thursday, 
the 18th, the writer called at his office with his partner, Mr. Lyman, 
and Mr. Fogg, of the firm above referred to, and finding that the 
vessel had been seized by reason of information lodged against her by 
the British consul, as set forth in the accompanying deposition, the 
following statement was drawn up and sworn to. [See No. 14.] 
This, the district attorney said, he would forward to Washington. 
" In the meantime, he was willing to release the vessel on our giving 
bail, which we thought it best not to do. 

From the district attorney the writer went to Mr. Barclay, made 
the explanations which had been given to the former, showed the. 
order under which the guns had been purchased, and requested a 
withdrawal of his complaint against the barque. Mr. Barclay was 
not willing to act without first seeing Mr. Edwards, his counsel, and a 
party to the complaint. When called upon a second time, the state- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 483 

ment made to the district attorney was read to him, but he was still 
unwilling to act without Mr. Edwards. 

On the following day, about forty-eight hours after the vessel was 
seized, Mr. Edwards called at the district attorney's office, withdrew 
the complaint, and the libel was lifted without any charge to the own- 
ers of the " Maury." 

It is due to the district attorney to state, that in the meantime the 
vessel was allowed to receive cargo under the surveillance of two of 
the marshal's men. 

On Monday, the 22d, Mr. Barclay called at the office of the sub- 
scribers, and expressed his regret that he had occasioned us so much 
trouble ; and was told that the least he could do was publicly to ac- 
knowledge the error into which he had been betrayed, and to say that 
the vessel had been seized in ignorance of her ownership. 

A paragraph from the Boston Daily Advertiser was shown to Mr. 
Barclay, as an evidence of the exaggerated character the report of the 
vessel's seizure was assuming in other places. On Wednesday, the 
24th, the following appeared in the Neiv York Herald: 

" Misrepresentations on the above subject having been published in 
various newspapers — among others, that munitions of war were found 
on board, c secreted under a quantity of cotton' — I desire to disabuse 
the mind of the public of that impression_, by stating that such was 
not the case. 

" Had my endeavors, made before information was formally lodged, 
to ascertain the owners of the ship Maury, succeeded, the explanations 
which that respectable firm, Messrs. A. A. Low & Brothers, gave 
after the libel was filed would have been sought by me, and no doubt 
would have been given before, and the course which was adopted 
would not have been resorted to. 

" A, BARCLAY, H. B. M.'s Consul 

"New York, October 23, 1855." 

The undersigned beg to say, that it had been publicly announced 
in New York papers, again and again, that the vessel was building for 
them ; she was publicly advertised in their name ; insurance had been 
done upon her to a large amount in Wall street ; the deponents Cor- 
nell and Craft are well known to the builders, are accustomed to be in 
their yard almost daily, and it is impossible to resist the conviction 
that to them at least it was known for whom she was preparing for sea. 

They respectfully ask, then, if the evidence upon which the com- 
plaint is founded should be weighed against the character and standing 
of respectable and responsible men ; if it was of a nature to warrant 
so extreme a measure, without the most rigid inquiry in a proper 
direction ; and, when shown to be utterly worthless, whether the 
apology of Mr. Barclay was of that prompt and ample character which 
one honorable man should delight to make to another whose reputa- 
tion he has, unwittingly, unjustly called in question ? 

A. A. LOW & BROTHERS, 

By A. A. Low. 



484 BRITISH RECRUITMENT 



No. 22. 



City and County of New York, ss. 

John N. Cornell, policeman of the eleventh district of this city, 
acting as dockmaster, being duly sworn, doth depose and say : That 
in September last he was applied to, by the person acting as mate of 
the three-masted schooner or ship " Maury," then launched about one 
week from the shipyard of Roosevelt, Joice & Co., to give said vessel 
a berth at the foot of Stanton street, East river. That this deponent 
gave said vessel a berth, and was in the habit of seeing her every day 
whilst she lay at that berth. This deponent further says, his particu- 
lar attention was called to said vessel by some cartmen telling him 
that they had seen cannon going on board, and asked this deponent 
if he knew what it meant. This deponent was then invited by the 
mate to go on board, which he did, and was shown by the said mate 
several cannon in the hold, and some small-arms in the cabin, and 
said mate at the same time remarked to mechanics working on board 
that he supposed there was a vessel of war waiting outside for us, and 
here was an officer on board (alluding to this deponent) ready to take 
possession of the vessel. And this deponent further says, that in re- 
ply to an inquiry made of the said mate, he said he had shipped on 
board the " Maury" to go to the China seas, but that he had a damned 
queer cargo to go there. 

And this deponent, from these circumstances, and from what he had 
seen, had his suspicions excited that all was not right, and so stated 
in general conversation in his family, and in the presence of his son, 
John T. Cornell, a law student or clerk in the law office of Charles 
Edwards, esq., attorney at law, 35 Pine street, this city. A few days 
after this conversation in the family of this deponent, his son told this 
deponent that his employer, Mr. Edwards, would like to see him ; and 
one or two days thereafter he repaired to the office of said Edwards, 
and in reply to his inquiries, and at his request, narrated the above 
circumstances ; the said Edwards at the same time telling this de- 
ponent that some person, a stranger to him, had made to him similar 
Statements. And this deponent further says, that said Edwards stated 
that the person who had been his informant told him that it was de- 
signed to fit out the li Maury" as a Russian privateer, for the purpose 
of capturing one of the Canard English steamers, and asked this 
deponent to make an affidavit of what he had seen and heard of this 
vessel, and all other particulars relating to her or her equipment ; but 
that this deponent should first get some person who was better ac- 
quainted with vessels also to go on board and see what he could, 
as combative, particularly whether the vessel looked like a vessel of 
war. 

And this deponent further says, that said Edwards told him that 
if he, this deponent, could be the means of detecting this move- 
ment, and it should turn out that the vessel was being fitted out for 
such a purpose, this deponent would receive a large reward. This 
deponent then returned to the station-house, and informed Lieutenant 
CJraft of the circumstances, knowing that said Craft had been a ship- 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 485 

carpenter by profession, and was a judge of vessels. Said Craft con- 
sented to go on board and look at the "Maury," and did go on board 
and make examinations. And this deponent further says, that he 
and said Craft, a few days afterwards, went down to the office of said 
Charles Edwards, at whose request both this deponent and Craft went 
to the office of the United States district attorney, to make oath to the 
affidavits in the premises, which had been previously drawn up by 
said Edwards in his own office. And this deponent further says, that 
at the office of the district attorney he was presented to John Mc Keon , 
esq., to whom he stated the whole matter, and who, after reading 
this deponent's affidavit, stated that it was very suspicious, and that 
he thought there was enough to seize the vessel, and informed this 
deponent that, if there could be sufficient evidence obtained to seize 
the vessel, this deponent "would make a good thing of it." 

And this deponent further says, that about one or two weeks after 
this, his son, John T. , informed him that the owners, Messrs. Low, 
had explained everything satisfactorily to Mr. Edwards, and that the 
"Maury" had been allowed to sail. 

JOHN N. CORNELL. 

Sworn before me, this 23d November, 1855. 

FERNANDO WOOD, Mayor. 



William D. Craft, lieutenant of the 11th district police, being duly 
sworn, deposes and says : That he is the person alluded to in the depo- 
sition above made by John N. Cornell, and that the said deposition is 
true, of his own knowledge, so far as it refers to this deponent going 
on board of the "Maury" at his request and making an affidavit at 
the office of Mr. Charles Edwards, at the request of said Edwards. 
And this deponent further says, that his suspicions were somewhat 
excited as to the character of the "Maury" from her model, her rig, 
the armament on board, and the general rumor as to Russian pri- 
vateers. 

WM. D. CRAFT. 

Sworn to this 23d November, 1855, before me. 

FERNANDO WOOD, Mayor. 



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